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Transocean Report Blames BP For Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig Explosion
by Matthew D. Shaffer on July 01, 2011
Transocean has released its investigative report into the Gulf Of Mexico oil rig explosion last April. Not surprisingly to maritime lawyers, the company has chosen to place the blame for the explosion on BP. According to the Transocean press release, soon after the Deepwater Horizon explosion last year, the company commissioned an internal inv...
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No Injuries Reported aboard Transocean Oil Rig Off Ghana
by Matthew D. Shaffer on July 12, 2011
All crew members on a Transocean semisubmersible rig off Ghana are reported to be uninjured after reports of water on board. The water ingress on the Transocean Marianas came to light when the crew members were getting ready to move location. According to Transocean, the rig was not drilling at the time. However, all 108 nonessential personne...
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Federal Offshore Agency Studies Worker Safety
by Matthew D. Shaffer on August 04, 2011
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement has been strongly focused on increasing offshore worker safety and preventing accidents like the Gulf of Mexico BP explosion last year. The agency has had its work cut out for it, as it struggles to deal with years of ineptitude, negligence and inappropriate relationships between...
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Judge Rules BP Can Be Sued for Punitive Damages
by Dennis M. McElwee on September 23, 2011
A judge has handed plaintiffs, who sustained losses during the BP oil rig explosion last year, a huge victory. He has ruled that BP can indeed be sued for punitive damages. According to Judge Carl Barbier plaintiffs are allowed under maritime law to make a claim for punitive damages. BP, Transocean and other defendants have insisted that puni...
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Federal Report Blames BP, Transocean, Halliburton for Rig Explosion
by Matthew D. Shaffer on October 12, 2011
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement has laid much of the blame for the Gulf of Mexico oil explosion last year on BP. However, Transocean, the owner of the rig, and Halliburton, which did much of the cementing work on the vessel, have not been spared blame either. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation an...
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No Injuries Reported in Transocean Rig-Supply Vessel Collision
by Matthew D. Shaffer on February 27, 2012
No crewmembers have been reported injured in a maritime accident involving a Transocean oil rig and a supply vessel off the coast of Newfoundland. According to offshore safety regulators, the collision involved the offshore drilling rig GSF Grand Banks, owned by Transocean Ltd. and working for Husky Energy Inc., off the Newfoundland coastline. ...
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Victory for BP As Court Disallows References to Previous Accidents
by Dennis M. McElwee on April 02, 2012
BP’s safety record is not exactly a secret to the maritime law lawyers at our firm. However, the company’s less-than-stellar record will not be admitted into court during the Deepwater Horizon trial. The trial will apportion blame for the oil explosion in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010, which killed 11 workers. But, the court has disallowed ...
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Judge Rules Transocean Need Not Pay Pollution-Related Compensatory Damages
by Matthew D. Shaffer on April 12, 2012
Ever since the Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, maritime law attorneys have found Transocean and BP battling over liability and damages. A judge has ruled that Transocean, the owner of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, does not have to pay any compensatory damages arising out of the marine pollution that resulted after the disaste...
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Chevron, Transocean Expect Stiff Penalties After Brazil Offshore Oil Leak
by Dennis M. McElwee on June 18, 2012
A Brazilian court has barred several employees of Chevron and Transocean from leaving the country, even as law enforcement officers in the country prepare to file criminal charges against them. The charges are related to an offshore spill involving the company. Last week, the Brazilian Navy reported that a new oil sheen was detected at the oilf...
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Transocean Safety Record Troubles Norway Offshore Drilling Regulators
by Matthew D. Shaffer on July 02, 2012
The maritime lawyers at our firm are no strangers to Transocean's sorry safety record. Now, offshore petroleum safety regulators in Norway have also criticized the company for its frequent violations of regulations. The Norway Petroleum Safety Authority has ordered Transocean improve its maintenance oversight. The order came after an audit, ca...
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Brazil Investigation: Chevron’s Offshore Oil Leak Larger Than Estimated
by Dennis M. McElwee on July 20, 2012
A report by Brazil’s National Petroleum Agency reveals that an offshore oil leak near a Chevron well in 2011 could have been prevented and was larger than previously estimated. Previous estimates put the leak at 110,000 gallons, which Chevron says it sticks by. But the Brazilian agency says about 155,000 gallons leaked into the ocean. The repor...
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Environmental Groups Sue EPA Over Chemicals Used In Oil Spill Cleanup
by Matthew D. Shaffer on August 14, 2012
A coalition of environmental groups from five states filed a lawsuit Monday in federal court claiming the Environmental Protection Agency rules on chemical dispersants used in oil spill cleanups do not adhere to clean water standards. The lawsuit says the EPA has not published regulations on acceptable use of such dispersants in response to oil...
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Federal Safety Rules Released For Offshore Drilling
by Dennis M. McElwee on August 20, 2012
A final set of federal safety regulations were issued last week for offshore drilling. The rules are a fine-tuning of the emergency measures enacted after the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and subsequent oil spill. The rules deal with how wells are designed and the testing of the cement and barriers that are used to secure them. The go...
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Tests Confirm Isaac Churned Up Oil From BP Spill
by Dennis M. McElwee on September 11, 2012
Globs of oil found on two Louisiana beaches after Hurrican Isaac has been confirmed as coming from the 2010 BP oil spill. Louisiana State University tested the oil, found on Elmer’s Island and Grand Isle, for state wildlife officials. It was found to match the biological fingerprint of the hundreds of millions of gallons of oil that spilled into...
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Unexploded Munitions In Gulf Pose Threat To Offshore Drilling
by Matthew D. Shaffer on October 01, 2012
Millions of pounds of unexploded bombs deposited in the Gulf of Mexico after World War II are posing a threat to offshore drilling, Texas oceanographers say. The United States and other governments disposed of munitions and chemical weapons in the oceans until the practice was banned by federal law and international treaties in the 1970s. Now, ...
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BP To Pay $4.5 Billion, Plead Guilty to Felonies In Deepwater Horizon Disaster
by Dennis M. McElwee on November 15, 2012
BP has agreed to plead guilty to felony charges, as well as pay $4.5 billion in penalties, in relation to the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion that left 11 workers dead and resulted in a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.The oil giant announced it would plead guilty to 11 felony counts of “misconduct or neglect of ships officers” in ...
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BP Workers Charged In Deepwater Horizon Deaths
by Matthew D. Shaffer on November 16, 2012
Two BP workers have been charged in the deaths of 11 people in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico. Robert Kaluza and Donald Vidrine, the highest-ranking BP employees aboard the Deepwater Horizon when the explosion occurred, have been charged with manslaughter, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday. They are accuse...
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