2.26.13
Oil Spill
Accusations Fly as Trial Over Gulf Oil Spill Begins
Wall Street Journal
By TOM FOWLER
NEW ORLEANS—The much-anticipated Deepwater Horizon trial began with a
flurry of finger pointing here Monday, as lawyers for BP BP.LN -1.60% PLC,
TransoceanLtd., RIGN.VX -2.66% Halliburton Corp., HAL -3.16% the federal
government, Gulf Coast states and local businesses traded barbs over who
is to blame for the deadly 2010 explosion and oil spill.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323884304578326193575632754.html
As Oil Spill Trial Opens, Push for a Deal Continues
NY Times
By CLIFFORD KRAUSS and BARRY MEIER
NEW ORLEANS — BP finally faced off in court Monday against an army of
federal and state prosecutors, lawyers and even its contract partners over
the Gulf of Mexico oil spill three years ago, contending that it alone
should not shoulder blame for the rig explosion that killed 11 workers and
soiled beaches and marshes from Louisiana to Florida.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/business/energy-environment/bp-trial-opens-with-possible-deal-in-background.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&
Billions of dollars at stake for BP, other companies as trial opens for
Gulf oil spill
By Associated Press,
NEW ORLEANS — BP put profits ahead of safety and bears most of the blame
for the disastrous 2010 spill in the Gulf of Mexico, a U.S. Justice
Department attorney charged Monday at the opening of a trial that could
result in the oil company and its partners being forced to pay tens of
billions of dollars more in damages.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/billions-of-dollars-are-at-stake-for-bp-as-trial-opens-for-gulf-oil-spill-litigation/2013/02/25/cfadad44-7f2d-11e2-a671-0307392de8de_story.html
Greed caused BP's gulf oil spill, lawyers argue
Plaintiffs in the case against BP say at a civil trial that corporate greed
led to a disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Julie Cart, Los Angeles Times
February 25, 2013, 8:39 p.m.
NEW ORLEANS — Energy giant BP, behind schedule and $50 million over budget
drilling a deep-water well, emphasized cost-cutting over safety, causing
the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history, lawyers said Monday as the
company's high-stakes civil trial began.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-bp-trial-20130226,0,7288349.story
Oil spill trial begins for BP, Transocean, other companies: Blame game
marks the first day
By Mark Schleifstein, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
updated February 25, 2013 at 10:07 PM
Opening day at the long-awaited civil trial against BP and its partners in
the ill-fated Macondo oil well at times sounded like a group of youngsters
blaming everyone but themselves for a bad deed. That's not an unexpected
beginning in the first phase of a federal trial aimed at determining each
of the companies' financial liability for the accident.
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2013/02/oil_spill_trial_begins_for_bp.html#incart_river
1st witness to testify in Gulf oil spill trial; billions at stake for BP,
other companies
By Associated Press, Published: February 25 | Updated: Tuesday, February
26, 5:50 AM
NEW ORLEANS — A University of California-Berkeley engineer who played a
prominent role in investigating levee breeches in New Orleans after
Hurricane Katrina is scheduled to be the first witness Tuesday at a trial
involving another Gulf Coast catastrophe: the worst offshore oil spill in
U.S. history.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/billions-of-dollars-at-stake-for-bp-other-companies-as-trial-opens-for-gulf-oil-spill/2013/02/25/d4bca108-7fb6-11e2-a671-0307392de8de_story.html
Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange: BP's greed caused Gulf oil spill
By George Talbot | gtalbot@al.com
updated February 25, 2013 at 6:38 PM
5:30 PM: As Day One of the BP trial wrapped today in New Orleans, lawyers
for the Gulf Coast states said they were encouraged by what they saw in
court.
http://blog.al.com/wire/2013/02/bp_trial_set_to_open_today_in.html#incart_river
Civil Trial Against BP Seeks To Place Blame For Gulf Oil Spill
JEFF BRADY and AUDIE CORNISH
NPR
The long-awaited BP trial opened Monday in New Orleans. The oil giant is in
court to determine how much it should pay because of the massive 2010 Gulf
of Mexico oil spill. Audie Cornish talks to Jeff Brady.
http://www.npr.org/2013/02/25/172905428/civil-trial-against-bp-seeks-to-place-blame-for-gulf-oil-spill
BP's billions at stake as courtroom showdown starts
By Ed Lavandera and Jason Morris, CNN
New Orleans (CNN) -- A titanic courtroom showdown with billions of dollars
in the balance opened in New Orleans on Monday, with oil giant BP arguing
it shouldn't face the government's steepest penalties for the 2010 Gulf oil
spill.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/25/us/bp-civil-trial/?hpt=us_c2
BP, contractors start trial for worst U.S. offshore spill
Reuters
Mon, Feb 25 2013
By Kristen Hays
NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - A long-awaited trial over the biggest U.S. offshore
oil spill began on Monday, with governments, businesses and individuals
blaming BP Plc mostly for the 2010 disaster that killed 11 rig workers and
spilled 4 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/25/us-bp-trial-idUSBRE91O0KD20130225
BP, Transocean Accused of 'Reckless' Actions in Spill
Bloomberg
By Jef Feeley and Allen Johnson Jr. - Feb 26, 2013
The mishandling of an oil-rig safety test by BP Plc (BP/) and Transocean
Ltd. (RIG) officials was a major cause of an explosion that led to the 2010
Gulf of Mexico oil spill, lawyers for the U.S. and spill victims said at a
trial.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-25/bp-oil-spill-errors-trial-begins-in-new-orleans-court.html
Solution sought for 'epicenter of land loss'
Houma Today
By Nikki Buskey
Published: Monday, February 25, 2013 at 10:38 p.m.
Local officials say they are concerned that the state's plans for money
from oil spill fines could leave vulnerable areas of Terrebonne and
Lafourche without protection.
http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20130225/ARTICLES/130229721
Questions arise over what can be purchased with spill money
Houma Today
Jeremy Alford
Capitol Correspondent
Published: Monday, February 25, 2013 at 10:57 a.m.
BATON ROUGE — With Louisiana expected to receive somewhere between $2
billion and $6 billion from fines paid as a result of the 2010 BP oil
spill, queries about eligible uses by state government have cropped up.
http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20130225/ARTICLES/130229752
State News
Judge rules for county in dispute over sand drying plant
by Associated Press
Published: February 26,2013
POPLARVILLE — A Pearl River County judge has ruled against a group of
residents who sought to block development of five acres near the
construction site of a sand drying plant in Pearl River County.
http://msbusiness.com/blog/2013/02/26/judge-rules-for-county-in-dispute-over-sand-drying-plant/
Agency rolls out hunting/fishing license app for Android
by MBJ Staff
Published: February 26,2013
JACKSON — The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries & Parks (MDWFP)
has released its hunting and fishing Android application.
http://msbusiness.com/blog/2013/02/26/agency-rolls-out-huntingfishing-license-app-for-android/
National News
Ernest Moniz, possible energy secretary pick, already drawing criticism
Washington Post
By Emily Heil
He's not even an official nominee yet, but Ernest Moniz, who is said to be
the White House's top candidate for energy secretary, is already prompting
grousing among the enviro set.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/in-the-loop/post/ernest-moniz-possible-energy-secretary-pick-already-drawing-criticism/2013/02/25/3bddaf02-7f6d-11e2-a350-49866afab584_blog.html#pagebreak
Exxon, BP, Halliburton take 'fracking' case to White House
The Hill
By Ben Geman - 02/25/13 04:24 PM ET
The White House review of delayed federal rules for oil-and-gas "fracking"
is drawing plenty of interest from energy companies and green groups.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/284747-exxon-bp-halliburton-take-fracking-case-to-white-house
Utility settles with EPA, agrees to stop burning coal at three sites
The Hill
By Zack Colman - 02/25/13 12:37 PM ET
The utility giant American Electric Power (AEP) will stop burning coal at
three power plants by 2015 under a settlement agreement with the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), several states and a handful of
environmental and civil groups.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/284691-utility-will-cease-burning-coal-at-3-sites-in-settlement-with-epa-others
