Law Office of Scott A. Nelson, P.C.

Oil rig accident attorneys are happy to see that Tropical Storm Bonnie only delayed the static kill procedure by seven to nine days. Bonnie fizzled out over south Florida and did not grow to be anything but a small nuisance. As it appears now, the relief wells should be in place and the oil flow permanently ceased by early August.

The static kill procedure requires pumping concrete and heavy drilling mud into the well from the top. The relief well will eventually bore into the well approximately 2.5 miles underneath the ocean floor. It is certainly a possibility that the static kill will plug the leak on its own. The relief wells will be completed, of course, even if the static kill plugs the leak.

BP is now testing a new cap over the leaking Deepwater Horizon well to determine whether it can stop the largest and possibly most destructive oil spill and oil rig accidents in United States history. Beginning noon Central Time, a 40-foot stack of valves which was affixed on top of the well will stop the flow of oil. With a tight new cap installed on its well, BP plans various gradual tests starting to see if the cap device can stop the oil. If the pressure inside the cap stays within the target range (8000-9000 pounds per square inch) for approximately six hours after the closing of the valves, many believe the cap could then contain the oil.

The BP oil spill fund has been established. Oil rig accident lawyers in Texas need to know that BP will pay $20 billion into an independently managed fund. They will also suspend dividend payments for the year. BP will sell $10 billion of 'upstream' oil exploration assets to helppay for the fund. BP will also ask for contributions to the fund from the various contractors who were involved in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. These contractors will include Transocean, Halliburton and Anadarko.

The oil spill fund will be administered by Kenneth Feinberg. Mr. Feinberg has overseen compensation for executives at companies that received federal bailout funds. BP’s fund commitments are much harsher penalties than many investors wanted. Many investors did not want BP to sell any assets or cut investment. This will tend to slow BP’s growth.

Texas has fourteen Courts of Appeals throughout the state.  These courts have intermediate appellate jurisdiction (before you go to the Texas Supreme Court in a civil case or the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in a criminal case) in civil and criminal cases appealed from the district or county courts. Each of the fourteen Court of Appeals has jurisdiction over a specific geographical region of Texas. Each individual Court is presided over by a chief justice and several other justices.  Right now, there there are eighty justices authorized by statute for these intermediate appellate courts.

One of the best appellate lawyers now is Todd Smith in Austin, who I was friends with in my law school days.  He also has a tremendous blog which summarizes current appellate issues.

It appears that President Obama has asked BP to start up an independently administered reimbursement fund for victims of the oil spill. Maritime accident lawyers in Texas and the rest of the Gulf States are wondering how exactly this will work. This would be fairly unique and would take some of the compensation and claims decisions and issues away from the company.

Congressional leaders and various state officials agreed. It appears that Harry Reid (D., Nev.) and other Democrats sent BP a letter asking that they start a $20 billion account. This would be overseen by an independent trustee and would then be used to pay the claims and other costs.

In addition to the Deepwater Horizon disaster,maritime and refinery accident attorneys in Texas need to know that BP has had a horrific safety record in its refineries. After the Texas City disaster, one would think that BP would clean up its act. Apparently not.

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) checked 55 oil refineries operating in the United States between June 2007 and February 2010. Two of these refineries were owned by BP. Amazingly, those two refineries had 760 citations for "egregiously willful" safety violations. "Egregiously willful" for purposes of OSHA means "committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health." Even more amazingly, the other 53 refineries only received one such violation total. For all 53.

Maritime and Jones Act accident lawyers in Texas are happy to see that BP is slowly making progress on the oil leak disaster. However, BP noted on Wednesday, June 9, 2010 that it is scaling back a bold prediction by its chief operating officer that the gusher would be brought down to a "relative trickle" as soon as next week.

Doug Suttles, COO, now states that BP hopes to have an improved containment system in place by early next week (Monday or Tuesday). BP asserted that although the company is optimistic that it can make solid progress soon in reducing the rapid flow of oil, it will be awhile before the spill can be defined as a "trickle." Additionally, Suttles continues to allege that there are not any big underwater oil plumes which have been found in "large concentrations." arising from the Gulf spill.

Offshore oil rig accident lawyers need to know that the BP and Transocean oil-spill lawsuits may be combined before a judge who is not from the Gulf Coast states. Half of the twelve active federal judges in the New Orleans judicial district have removed themselves from the cases filed by fishermen, businesses and property owners and coastal businesses The judges have various conflicts tied to oil investments or with the lawyers and/or companies involved in the litigation.

Some of the federal judges in southern Alabama have recused themselves from handling the spill-damage cases. Most of the more than 150 lawsuits over the spill are proposed class actions representing potentially thousands of claims against BP and Transocean.

Both sides want to have all federal-court suits over the oil spill to hold down costs and expenses and to have consistent judicial rulings. The plaintiffs want the litigation be combined in Louisiana, where the majority of the damage has occurred.

To date, the oil still flows from the Deepwater Horizon well. Offshore oil rig accident lawyers in Texas and the Gulf Coast are monitoring the situation, hoping for a solution. in mid-August. Unfortunately, BP’s recent effort to temporarily control the flow by cutting off the damaged riser pipe and then capping the pipe to divert the majority of the oil to a ship has not succeeded.

Last week, BP struggled to stop the gusher, slicing off the bent well pipe with huge shears after the diamond-tipped saw got stuck during the operation. The cut was jagged, so placing a cap over the flow of oil to capture it and then funnel it to a surface ship, may be difficult. Since the cut is jagged, the cap may not fit properly.

The relief well should be finished by mid-August, but some experts say it may not succeed.

Offshore oil rig accident lawyers in Texas and other states will see interesting developments over the next few years.  The giant oil slick presents serious risks to the energy sector. Federal offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico produces about one-third of the United States’ total crude production. Floating oil in nearby waters poses a serious threat of fire and is also a threat to workers’ health. As such, other rigs may have to shut down if the oil spreads to their location.

Shipping may also face serious challenges. Although oil does not usually damage these ocean-going vessels, it can cling to their hulls. They will have to be cleaned before they enter U.S. ports or waterways so they do not contaminate the inland waters. The incoming oily ships would have to transfer their cargo or be thoroughly cleaned.