BP plc

Tornadoes Across Midwest and South Kill Over 30; BP And Plaintiffs Reach Agreement; Man Gets 27 Years in Homegrown Terrorism Case

At least 31 are dead across Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Alabama after tornado storms ravaged the Midwest and South, essentially destroying towns. Today, the rescue effort continued, as parts of the South remained on tornado watch. "It's just nuts right here," National Weather Service meteorologist ... More >>

Government Corruption and the BP Oil Spill in The Big Fix

BP Pays $100 Million Forward on Earth Day

​Just in time for Earth Day 2011, BP has announced they will give $100 million to five of the Gulf States following last year's Deepwater Horizon explosion. As part of their agreement to put $1 billion toward Gulf restoration projects, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida will r ... More >>

Transocean, Firm Behind Exploding Gulf Rig, Gives Execs Bonuses for 'Best Safety Year'

The explosion of Deepwater Horizon​As we head toward the one-year anniversary of the start of the BP spill in the Gulf (that was April 20, 2010, in case you've forgotten), it's almost as though we've completely forgotten about that old oil spill in the Gulf. Out of sight, out of mind! BP is pe ... More >>

BP Wants to Get Back to Drilling in Gulf Of Mexico

​BP is petitioning U.S. regulators to continue drilling in the Gulf of Mexico less than a year after the massive oil spill that killed 11 workers and caused massive environmental damage. The deal would be that BP would be able to resume pre-existing drilling operations in the Gulf in exchange for ... More >>

Tony Hayward Should Really Just Stop Talking

​Tony Hayward, the English bloke and former oil company CEO with the name that became infamous, and synonymous, with BP's 4.9 million barrels of oil spilled in the Gulf, and a sense of overwhelming incompetence in BP's attitude toward said spill (what with his taking time to go yachting, and c ... More >>

BP Rejoices, Can Blame Halliburton for Gulf Oil Spill

​Perpetually shady company Halliburton has come to BP's aid, sort of, by saying that they failed to do a critical test on the cement used to seal the well in the Gulf. Which then, of course, blew. In fact, tests done by the company showed the cement to be "unstable." It all sounds like a shits ... More >>

BP Blames Media, Rivals for Creating "Climate of Fear" Over Gulf Spill

Blame these pelicans for helping to create a climate of public fear. ​Following the news that BP has been busy donating money to politicians who deny the existence of climate change and global warming, BP's new chief exec Bob Dudley does us a Tony Hayward and blames the media -- and mean compe ... More >>

Oil in the Gulf is Not Quite Gone

​Though the Louisiana oil spill has all but faded from the public consciousness, fishermen in the region have reportedly discovered "miles-long strings of weathered oil," despite the U.S. Coast Guard claims that little more could be done in terms of clean-up. The local Times-Picayune has a jar ... More >>

BP and Russia Are Now BFFs, Apparently

via NYT​While America is still pretty sore at BP for that whole oil spill debacle -- the repercussions in terms of lawsuits and penance to pay is not over yet, oh no -- Russia is being pretty darn friendly to them all of a sudden, a bit surprising considering how strained relations were betwee ... More >>

BP Well to Be Sealed By Saturday, Says BP

The good old days.​Hey, everybody, remember that well in the Gulf? The one that broke a while back, and leaked its oil everywhere, and got all over a bunch of birds, and fish, and shrimp, and people? Oh, come on, remember? Yeah, it was a long time ago that happened. Like, before the summer eve ... More >>

Breaking: BP Blames Others

​An internal report (by BP, for BP) from the oil company has said that the failures that led to the 5-million-barrel spill in the Gulf can actually be attributed to a number of others besides the oil company themselves.

Camp BP: A New Story Angle Bubbles Up From the Bowels of the Gulf

​From AOL's MyDaily, we've learned of a cracked-out summer camp that's actually more like jail and will supposedly continue its mission "for as long as it takes." Nope, it's not fat camp -- too much lousy processed food in the cafeteria -- it's BP's clean-up camp! Let's peek into this odd litt ... More >>

Morning Links: Middle East Peace Process Revived; BP Payout Requires Lawsuit Waiver; Last Chance to Dip in a Dumpster Pool

​• Israel and Palestinian will reportedly return to negotiations for the first time in almost two years. Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, will probably be invited by President Obama to Washington in early September to ... More >>

Oil Plume in the Gulf Exists to Spite Tony Hayward

​Here's a new word, everybody! Let's all say it together: Plume. Doesn't that just roll off the tongue, all slick and oily? Despite what you might think, it doesn't mean the feather in a dapper man's cap, or a particularly French shade of plum. It's the latest in our ongoing explorations with ... More >>

Keeping Score on the Gulf: Fishermen Speak Up About Cover-Ups & Compensation

Slick business.​ The oil is no longer flowing and it's time for the people who make a living off the Gulf of Mexico's riches to return to the water. But for some, going back to work isn't as easy as it sounds.

Morning Links: Dry Erase Board Girl Is Fake; Sketchers Shape-Ups Don't Work; and Other Disconcerting Finds

via The Observer/The Chive​• Jenny the Dry Erase Board Girl is really an actress named Elyse Porterfield, i.e., the whole thing's a fake. D'oh! But it was fun while it lasted. [Observer] • BP station owners were screwed by the oil spill, too, getting their share of boycotts, protests, van ... More >>

BP Will Probably Drill in the Gulf Again, After This Mess Blows Over

​Um, too soon? BP took the opportunity today -- as crews plan to seal the damaged well via an 18,000 foot relief well -- to tell us that they'll probably drill again right in the same place where millions of gallons of oil have leaked into the Gulf. Because, after, all, there's still a lot of ... More >>

Morning Links: BP Moves to Phase 2 of Mud-Pouring; No Cake for Birthday Obama; Naomi Campbell Talks Blood Diamonds

​• BP has gotten the okay to begin the next phase of the "static kill" (a/k/a, pouring cement into the well part two), which is something that we never would have thought we'd be excited about 100-some days ago. Things change. Pumping operations are expected to start today. [BP] • Despite ... More >>

BP Ever So Slightly Vindicated for One Bad Thing

​Remember early on in the history of the oil spill (which started 105 days ago today)? Mistakes were being made so rapidly as to almost be comical, if not for all of those highly unfunny photos of birds doused in oil and the sinking feeling that the Gulf was destroyed forever. And then there w ... More >>

Tony Hayward Will Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night, Dammit

​Even though Tony Hayward is off to Russia in October, taking with him $1.5 million for his troubles (plus a pension fund worth about £11 million), he still seems to have a powerful ability to grate on our nerves. To wit, his declaration today that the Gulf spill "represents a failure for th ... More >>

Tony Hayward to be Shipped Off to Russia

​According to the Wall Street Journal, BP scapegoat Tony Hayward is getting the old shipped-off-to-Siberia treatment. Or, well, Russia, anyway. But it's not so much the gulags as a dubious promotion of sorts: Hayward will reportedly step down in October and become a non-executive director of T ... More >>

A Leaking Well Is Not a Seeping Well, and Other Lessons Learned From the BP Disaster

​As we mentioned this morning, there was a "seep" detected in the Gulf of Mexico near the once-leaky well that's, apparently, back to leaking now, although not quite so much as it was before the cap was put on. This seep may be adding methane to the mix in the Gulf, but in a crazy plot twist, ... More >>

BP Oil Well Cap Is Hanging In There, For Now

​The deadline on BP's 48-hour trial on a new well cap, 3:25 p.m. EST, has come and gone with no word from the company, the Associated Press is reporting. Is no news good news? Video of the cap shows no oil flowing into the Gulf of Mexico, a ubiquitous sight over the last 80-plus days. Forgive ... More >>

Just How Bad Is BP's Undersea Gusher? The Spill Retrospective Chart

​On Tuesday, BP was supposed to begin testing the new cap over the Gulf oil leak that they say has the potential to stop the gushing flow. So we all waited around, biting our nails, crossing our fingers, and news-surfing for confirmation of success. On Wednesday night, what they said would be ... More >>

Has BP Actually, Seriously, Helped the Terrorists Win by Getting the Pan-Am Bomber Released?

​Sure, the leak very well might be contained! It's a celebration! Except we can't forget that BP, British Petroleum, is the organization responsible for one of the biggest environmental disasters (and subsequent disastrous clean-up) in the history of mankind. This matters because we're now for ... More >>

That Oil Spill in the Gulf Really Isn't Helping Anyone

​Usually when something bad happens, at least you have the look-on-the-bright-side quality of being able to say, hey, at least we learned from this, and we sure won't do it again next time, or some such. Not so, it seems, with the oil spill in the Gulf. Sure, it's killed innocent animals and p ... More >>

Breaking: Holy Crap, the Oil Leak in the Gulf May Be Contained

Unfortunately, capping the leak is probably not going to help this hermit crab.​Can it be? Dare we to believe? Say it's so! Brett Michael Dykes at Yahoo! News reports that "A tweet from the PBS NewsHour Twitter feed probably sums it up best: 'BREAKING: There does not appear to be oil flowing i ... More >>

BP Removes Cap, Oil to Flow Freely For Days

​Remember the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico? It's been over 80 days. The disaster has been in the news less lately; folks feel desensitized, dejected. Still, nothing is fixed. In fact, Saturday around noon BP removed the cap that was preventing oil from the leaky well from gushing into th ... More >>

Brooklyn Man's Plan to Unleash Suffering Upon BP by Way of Vuvuzela Is Actually Happening (Q&A!)

via Vuvuzelas for BP​Last week, we alerted you to a man with a plan. A bizarre, maybe totally brilliant plan to punish the bigwigs at BP for their negligence leading to the oil spill in the Gulf via a band of voracious vuvuzela players stationed outside of their headquarters in London. We mana ... More >>

Brooklyn Man to Unleash Ultimate Suffering Upon BP by Way of Vuvuzela

via Vuvuzelas for BP​A Brooklyn man who is no stranger to revenge (just guessing) has a diabolical plan to get BP where it hurts. Right in the oh-my-God-please-make-it-stop-SWARM-OF-BEES! SWARM OF BEES! Buoyed by recent World-Cup-inferred knowledge of the vast powers of the vuvuzela, Adam Qu ... More >>

Susan Spicer, New Orleans Chef, Sticks It to British Petroleum

​Famed New Orleans chef and cook book author Susan Spicer has filed a class action lawsuit against British Petroleum, Halliburton, and Transocean, Ltd. Entered in New Orleans Federal Court, the suit asks for both compensatory and punitive damages - as yet unspecified -- for the harm that has r ... More >>

Oil Now Spewing Unchecked in Gulf After Underwater Robot Causes Accident

​According to AP reports, oil is now gushing into the Gulf unabated after an accident with a klutzy underwater robot has forced BP to remove the cap that was collecting at least some of the 2.5 million gallons of oil flowing into the ocean each day. Tony Hayward jokes aside ... seriously, ever ... More >>

Joe Barton, GOP Back Off BP Apology -- But Rightbloggers Insist: Defeat or Death!

You've heard that old fable -- favored by Orson Welles, among others -- about a frog whom a scorpion asks for a ride across a stream. The frog reasons that the scorpion won't sting him while they're both in the water, because then they would both drown. So he consents. But the scorpion stings him ... More >>

BP Chief Tony Hayward is Attending a Yacht Race; Now Everyone's Really Mad

​For Tony Hayward, after dealing with the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history every day for 60 days, it's vacation time. He's currently attending a yacht race around England's Isle of Wight, where his 52-foot boat named "Bob" is participating. "He's spending a few hours with his family ... More >>

BP's Tony Hayward Booted from the Gulf; Bob Dudley to Take Over

​According to an interview today with Sky News, Tony Hayward has "has a new role" in dealing with the oil spill in the Gulf. Turns out, as a geologist, he was never going to be much good at PR, and so someone with the far more promising name of Bob Dudley (BP's managing director) will be takin ... More >>

Tony Hayward Drinks from the Cup of America; Taste Is Oily With One Million Sorrys

via New York Times​How many "Sorrys" does it take to fix a leaky oil well? Tony Hayward again apologizes today, this time in front of Congress, many of whom would still like to beat him down most mercilessly despite his deep contrition and now-practiced sadface. Representative Henry Waxman sco ... More >>

Republican Joe Barton Apologizes for Apologizing to BP

Barton, looking entirely too jolly.​Seriously, this is getting ridiculous. Jon Ward reports on The Daily Caller that Representative Joe Barton was told by House Republican leaders that "he would be stripped of his ranking member status on a key committee Thursday if he did not immediately apol ... More >>

BP Agrees to Create $20 Billion Cleanup Fund; Oil Spill Estimate Now at 60,000 Barrels per Day

​In today's meeting at the White House, BP has "tentatively" agreed to create a $20 billion fund to pay claims for the oil spill, now being called "the worst in American history," reports the New York Times. Kenneth Feinberg, who oversaw the 9/11 victims compensation fund, will run this one as ... More >>

BP Puts Foot in Mouth Again With "Small People" Comment; Gets it Out by Cutting Shareholder Dividends

​Today BP chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg, who, in fairness, is Swedish-born and perhaps less familiar with the eccentricities of American speech, had his own oops-a-daisy Tony Hayward moment. In a press conference, Svanberg said that President Obama "is frustrated because he cares about the sma ... More >>

Lightning Strikes BP Drill Ship; People Start to Wonder

​First Jesus, now BP. Lightning is smiting things all over the place! A bolt struck a drill ship siphoning oil from the Gulf of Mexico today, starting a fire that stopped efforts to contain the leak. Temporarily, thank...ahem.

Morning Links: Obama Tours the Gulf, Addresses Nation Tuesday; the Sunderland Family Reality Show is Revealed

​• After touring the Gulf today and tomorrow, President Obama will speak from the Oval Office for the first time Tuesday night about a plan for BP to create an escrow account to pay back businesses and individuals for their losses from the oil spill. BP's board, meanwhile, will hold an emerg ... More >>

Mike Bloomberg Backs BP: Our Mayor Defended Tony Hayward?

​Granted, New Yorkers are nowhere near the Gulf Shore, and the oil has yet to make its way up to the Hudson, and even if it did, we wouldn't notice, because the Hudson's gross anyway (not that this should stop you from saving it). But we're affected in plenty of different ways by the BP Oil Sp ... More >>

Amid Criticism, Obama to Please Americans By Making BP Pay Big Bucks

​With Obama still inheriting residual blame from people rightfully pissed about the un-ending flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico via BP, the White House has gone on the offensive with fury in the past week. President Obama finally came with harsh words, wondering whose ass he should kick, but ... More >>

BP Protesters Take to the Streets, New York Times Building

​Today is Worldwide BP Protest Day. Have you heard about the damage they've done? Oil is still flowing into the Gulf of Mexico, at a rate of around 1.7 million gallons a day. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., one New York City meeting spot for angry environmentalist or lonely singles is the New York Tim ... More >>

Morning Links: BP Spill Far Worse Than Exxon-Valdez, Ex-Inmate Gets $300,000 Payout for Squashed Balls, the World Cup Begins

​• Prepare to feel depressed: According to new estimates, "an amount equivalent to the Exxon Valdez disaster could be flowing into the Gulf of Mexico every 8 to 10 days." Ugh. President Obama is asking to meet with BP execs next week, and Congress is pressuring BP to stop paying shareholders ... More >>

BP Protesters to Stake Out New York Times Tomorrow; We Talk to Their Organizer

​If today's news that the oil spill in the Gulf is spewing out as much as the Exxon Valdez spill did, every 8 to 10 days, got you down like it did us, there's a protest rally that has your name all over it. Tomorrow is Worldwide BP Protest Day, and from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., NYC folks will rally ... More >>