BP's Deepwater Horizon oil catastrophe in 2010 appears to be a distant memory for oil companies drilling in the Gulf today.
The Houston Chronicle reports:
"We are quite optimistic on the outlook for the Gulf of Mexico," Schlumberger [the world's largest provider of oil field services and equipment] CEO Paal Kibsgaard said during a conference call with analysts. "We should be at pre-Macondo levels for deep-water drilling rigs by the latter part of 2012."
BP itself seems to be unaffected by the disaster. The Telegraph reports:
Bob Dudley said that BP had in fact had its best year in three decades for gaining new exploration acreage last year – despite the damage the company's reputation took after the spill and explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig in April 2010.
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Yet the effects of the BP oil disaster are far from over for many of the residents in the area. Facing South reports:
A new video from the Louisiana Environmental Action Network features first-hand accounts from mothers and grandmothers about the chronic health problems afflicting an alarming number of children who live in the Gulf. Watch it here:
A month ago Shell was forced to shut down a rig in the Gulf of Mexico after a leak.
