Transocean to Pay $1.4 billion for its Role in the Gulf Oil Spill of 2010

On January 3, 2013, the Department of Justice announced that it has reached an historic settlement with Transocean for its role in the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The $1.4 billion settlement will be paid under the Clean Water Act for civil and criminal penalties.

Much of these funds will go towards restoring the Gulf, as directed by the RESTORE Act. Gulf restoration and economic development groups lauded the announcement and issued the following statement:

“This is a great day for the Gulf environment and the communities that rely on a healthy ecosystem for their livelihoods,” said Environmental Defense Fund, Greater New Orleans Inc., National Wildlife Federation, National Audubon Society, The Nature Conservancy, Oxfam America and Ocean Conservancy. “We thank the Department of Justice for their leadership in holding Transocean accountable and look forward to full resolution of the case with other responsible parties, which will allow restoration efforts in the Gulf to get fully underway.”

“With this settlement, the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council finally has some funding to begin implementing a comprehensive plan for ecosystem restoration that will rebuild the environment of the Gulf and the communities that rely upon it.”

© 2013, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Palin Blames Environmentalists for Oil Spill

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is the fault of 'extreme environmentalists' who protest against oil companies, Sarah Palin said.

The former Alaskan governor said if campaigners weren't successful in prohibiting land based oil exploration in the US, companies like BP would not have to resort to deep-sea drilling and the oil spill disaster would never have happened.

Palin, who made the chant 'Drill, Baby, Drill!' famous in the 2008 presidential election, favors drilling in environmentally sensitive areas including the Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

In an online Facebook rant titled 'Extreme Enviros: Drill, Baby, Drill in ANWR - Now Do You Get It?' she said: 'Look, here's the deal: when you lock up our land, you outsource jobs and opportunity away from America and into foreign countries that are making us beholden to them.'

'Extreme deep water drilling is not the preferred choice to meet our country's energy needs, but your protests and lawsuits and lies about onshore and shallow water drilling have locked up safer areas,' she said.

Palin does not appear to understand that the catastrophic impacts of oil are not reserved for off shore drilling. Fossil fuels are a finite source of energy that is driving climate change. The environmental impact of burning fossil fuels and the risks associated with its exploitation, justifies the aggressive pursuit of renewable alternatives.

Rush Limbaugh's excuse may be an addiction to pain medication, Palin may simply be the victim of her own intellect.

Palin said, 'It's catching up with you. The tragic, unprecedented deep water Gulf oil spill proved.' However, what is more likely is that Palin's tragic record on the environment will one day catch up with her.
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Responsibility for the Costs of the Gulf Oil Spill

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has adversely impacted all the key players. BP's stock has dropped more than $32 billion, Likewise the stocks of Transocean which owned Deepwater Horizon, and Cameron International, which made the blowout preventer that failed, are also declining.

Transocean's shares lost almost half their value since closing above $92 on April 20th, today they are valued at under $50. Cameron has declined more than 25% from its peak.

Fitch Ratings estimated the cost of the cleanup could exceed $3 billion but insurance will likely cover most of that cost.

The Obama administration has pledged to recover "every dime" of taxpayer expense from the spill, however US law caps company liability at $75 million per spill. Transocean has already taken legal action to limit its liability to $27 million.

For the Exxon Valdez oil spill, Exxon Mobil paid out $4.3 billion in compensation, cleanup costs, fines and settlements before insurance kicked in.

A full accounting of blame appears to implicate the government agency in charge of monitoring oil rigs. The US Minerals Management Service (MMS) director, Elizabeth Birnbaum has been fired due to reports of fraternization between MMS employees and oil industry employees. The MMS regional supervisor is also alleged to have received inappropriate gifts from BP.
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Next: Obama Presidency and the Gulf Oil Spill

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