Gulf of Mexico hides 27,000 abandoned wells

Jeff Donn and Mitch Weiss, The Associated Press:


More than 27,000 abandoned oil and gas wells lurk in the hard rock beneath the Gulf of Mexico, an environmental minefield that has been ignored for decades. No one – not industry, not government – is checking to see if they are leaking, an Associated Press investigation shows.
http://dallasne.ws/cAEMK9

Abbott denies campaign rival's charge that he went easy on BP

Kim reports:
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said Monday that he feels "frustration and aggravation" over BP's response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and that the company's actions could lead to criminal charges.


He dismissed accusations by his campaign opponent that he has shied away from criticizing BP or downplayed the spill's magnitude.
http://tinyurl.com/2eh6mbs

Huge oil plumes found under Gulf as BP struggles

Jeffrey Collins, AP:
ROBERT, La. (AP) -- Oil from a blown-out well is forming huge underwater plumes as much as 10 miles long below the visible slick in the Gulf of Mexico, scientists said as BP wrestled for a third day Sunday with its latest contraption for slowing the nearly month-old gusher.
http://tinyurl.com/3669d9q

Oystermen eager to either help clean up gulf oil spill or get back to work

Randy Lee Loftis reports:

Even if BP can stop the leak nearly a mile down, serious ecological harm from oil already spilled is inevitable, says Dr. Ron Kendall of Texas Tech University.
http://tinyurl.com/2clkdsg

White keeps drilling Perry for 'act of God' quip

Democratic nominee for governor Bill White apparently thinks there's some taters where he's digging. So he's digging GOP opponent Rick Perry again, more sharply, over the incumbent governor's "act of God" comment about BP's oil-spewing drill hole on the ocean bed of the Gulf of Mexico. Garrett reports. http://tinyurl.com/2f2stkg

Coverage of Gulf oil spill

The News is maintaining a topic page on the Gulf oil spill:
http://topics.dallasnews.com/page/gulf-oil-spill

Offshore drilling not losing favor among Texas leaders

Hoppe reports:

AUSTIN – State leaders continued to voice their support Tuesday for offshore drilling while eyeing the anticipated economic and environmental damage from the BP oil spill.

While others, such as California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, have reversed their push for more offshore drilling in light of the oil-laced Gulf of Mexico, Texas' elected officials indicated that the disaster has not softened their support.
http://tinyurl.com/3azaao5

Bill White and Rick Perry continue to back off-shore drilling

Hoppe reports:
Democratic governor candidate Bill White, who worked in the U.S. Energy Department and has made a substantial fortune from the oil patch, essentially agreed with Rick Perry by saying that the nation's energy policy should continue to include off-shore drilling.


In a 10-page explanation of what might have happened in the British Petroleum oil spill disaster, White did call for learning what happened and taking preventative measure to assure that the catastrophe is not repeated.
http://tinyurl.com/2b97l8m

Bill White's 10-pager explaining possible causes of spill:
http://www.scribd.com/full/30896764?access_key=key-mmf7w5rlv9savq70i9x

Offshore well blowout preventer was supposed to be fail-safe

The DMN's Jim Landers explains:

At the heart of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill is a 40-foot-high stack of steel holding multiple hydraulic valves designed to cap a well before it turns into a gusher.

It's supposed to be fail-safe.
http://tinyurl.com/29ru633

Perry defends BP, alludes to 'act of God' as possible cause of oil spill

Dave Michaels wrote in Trail Blazers:

At an appearance in Washington Monday, Gov. Rick Perry alluded to an "act of God" as he addressed a question about the Obama administration's response to the April 20 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.


"From time to time, there are going to be things that occur that are acts of God that cannot be prevented," Perry said. "So until we know that, to make a judgment on this administration or any further activity may be a bit premature."
http://tinyurl.com/2bcr8pr

For Texas beaches, tar balls from oil spill could be on the way

From The Associated Press:


AUSTIN – Texans could see some tar balls roll up on their beaches in a few weeks as a result of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, but the state is in little danger of a larger threat, officials said Thursday.

While tar balls are unsightly, currents in the gulf would make it hard for a large oil slick from the 5,000 barrel-a-day spill to make its way to Texas beaches, said state Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson.
http://tinyurl.com/2br5j6q