Despite 2010 tragedy, BP advances deepwater drilling in the Gulf

It's never in the news anymore. It was the biggest oil spill in U.S. history, but these days it's rarely even a footnote on the TV news or online.

Anderson Cooper recently remarked on Late Night with Seth Meyers that "it's not like the Obama administration was the most welcoming to the media" and that

President Obama hadn't agreed to an interview with him after the BP oil spill. Cooper had been down in the Gulf, as he had following Katrina. His reporting has historically been conscientious and thorough, yet even Cooper is beholden to whatever constraints CNN producers place on him.

This reporter/blogger spoke at a symposium at the University of Georgia in early 2011, and one of the attendees asked whether the event would be of interest down the road. A fellow journalist remarked that that was a good question.

But whether you, the reader, care or not; whether this issue is as flashy and newsworthy as it once was or not; the fact remains that BP is not only very much still in business, but at work in the Gulf.

Here is the activity around Louisiana waters:

1) Thunder Horse South Expansion: Started Dec. 2016. The company says on its website that, "The Thunder Horse platform is located around 150 miles southeast of New Orleans in over 6,000 feet of water. The South Expansion Project comprises a new subsea drill centre located two miles from the Thunder Horse platform. Three new wells and an existing fourth well are expected to tie-into the new drill centre. Topsides scope is minimal as a result of maximising use of existing subsea infrastructure." The deepwater oil project partner is ExxonMobil at 25 percent, with BP owning 75 percent of the interest. It is currently under construction.

2) Thunder Horse Water Injection: "The Thunder Horse platform is located around 150 miles southeast of New Orleans in over 6,000 feet of water. The water injection project is expected to develop an additional 65 million barrels of oil equivalent (gross). The project scope comprises refurbishment and replacement of existing topsides and subsea equipment, procurement and installation of new equipment and the drilling and completion of two water injection wells. Water will be injected from the two new wells into the reservoir to increase pressure and enhance production." The project is jointly run by Exxon, also at 25 percent. It was begun in May of last year.

3) Finally, Mad Dog Phase II "includes a new semi-submersible floating production platform with the capacity to produce up to 140,000 gross barrels of crude oil per day from 14 production wells. The new platform will be moored approximately six miles southwest of the existing Mad Dog platform, which is located in 4,500 feet of water about 190 miles south of New Orleans." It's jointly owned by BP at 60.5 percent along with BHP Billiton (23.9 percent) and Chevron (15.6 percent.)

The April 20, 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion resulted in an 87-day oil "spill" after killing 12 rig workers off the coast of Louisiana. Following that, the last presidential administration authorized the copious use of toxic dispersants, a.k.a. Corexit, to "cover up" the mess. An environmental worker familiar with the situation said it was the best solution at the time because it kept oil from spilling further up into the marsh and wetlands.

All told, about 200 million gallons of oil erupted into the waters off Louisiana, sickening and killing marine life and wildlife across the five Gulf states. Further, thousands of residents in the most affected areas such as Pass Christian, Mississippi; Orange Beach, Alabama; and Grand Isle, Louisiana reported sores, breathing difficulties, kidney problems, and weight loss.

>Photo: "A ship floats amongst a sea of spilled oil in the Gulf of Mexico after the BP Deepwater Horizon oilspill disaster." Wikimedia Commons Images. June 16, 2010; Flickr: Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill - Gulf of Mexico; Author: kris krüg