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Unbelievable story from the Associated Press. Yep, our favorite mega-global conglomerate oil company will be making lemonade out of lemons from the oil spill (so to speak - kinda). Selling the spilled oil - yep, you got it. They'd better make sure every penny from every drop does go to relief efforts! See the story below:
Fill her up with spill oil? BP to sell leaked crude
Proceeds from gas station, grocery store sales to fund wildlife protection
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By RAY HENRY
updated 2 hours, 50 minutes ago
NEW ORLEANS - Oil from the worst spill in U.S. history could soon end up at gas stations, construction sites and even grocery stores once BP sells the crude taken from a ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico
to raise money for wildlife protection.
Energy giant BP announced this week it will donate its share of the proceeds generated by selling the oil captured from the well to fund efforts to protect and restore wildlife habitat along the Gulf Coast.
The company has not released specifics on how the fund will work and said it doesn't know how much money might be raised — but once the oil is brought to shore, it will creep into the world's economic supply chain unnoticed by consumers.
"Oil is oil," said Julius Langlinais, professor emeritus of petroleum engineering at Louisiana State University. "There's no stamp or anything on it. It's all the same molecules."
Scientists have estimated that anywhere between about 40 million gallons to 109 million gallons of oil have gushed into the Gulf since a drilling rig exploded April 20, killing 11 workers.
Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen , the Obama administration's point man for the oil spill, said that since the leak began, 4 million gallons of crude have been siphoned off the leaking well using tubes and caps. An additional 18 million gallons have been skimmed from the ocean surface, he said. The skimmed liquid is generally only 10 to 15 percent oil.
Hunt for a buyer
Negotiations were still ongoing Friday to find a buyer for all that captured oil, BP spokesman Mark Proegler said.
Negotiations were still ongoing Friday to find a buyer for all that captured oil, BP spokesman Mark Proegler said.
"There's nothing special about it, other than everyone's looking at it," he said.
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Once that crude hits a refinery, the oil could end up in a wide array of fuels and products including gasoline, diesel, heating oil, asphalt and plastic — including the bags used at grocery stores, the cases for cell phone and microwaves. It also can be used as raw feed for chemical companies.
"I think it's an eye-opening experience for people who don't give it much thought when they finally realize how much their lives depend on oil," Langlinais said.
BP has said it plans to boost its ability to directly capture oil gushing from the well by early next week. A semi-submersible drilling rig would capture and burn up to 420,000 gallons of oil daily. Once on board, the oil and gas collected from the well will be sent down a boom and burned at sea.
A drill ship already at the scene can process a maximum of 756,000 gallons of oil daily that's sucked up through a containment cap sitting on the well head.
Federal officials are still reviewing BP's plan to build a new containment system designed to capture more oil and be more durable during hurricane season. Allen said the plan could be revised based on calculations of how much oil is spilling from the well.
Methanol lowers price
It's unclear how much the captured oil will be worth once it's sold. Oil was trading around $74 a barrel Friday, but BP officials said they expect to get a lower price than normal because the oil captured from the leak is laced with methanol.
It's unclear how much the captured oil will be worth once it's sold. Oil was trading around $74 a barrel Friday, but BP officials said they expect to get a lower price than normal because the oil captured from the leak is laced with methanol.
BP is injecting methanol as an antifreeze into the inside of the containment cap sitting over the gushing well to prevent the buildup of an ice-like slush that can clog the pipes.
Under its operating agreement, BP gets 65 percent of the net revenue made by selling oil from the leak site. After deducting for royalty payments owed to the government, it will donate its share of the proceeds to the wildlife fund.
Anadarko Petroleum Corp., which is entitled to 25 percent of the oil revenue, is still discussing what do with its share of the money when the oil is sold, Anadarko spokesman Matt Carmichael said.
"We're committed to doing the right thing," he said.
A subsidiary of Mitsui & Co. Ltd., which has a 10 percent stake, declined to comment.
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9 comments:
It is really sad that is always takes a disaster or traumatizing event to get people to care about such things as this. I guess I have to say at least we're learning. I have decided that I want to be better informed and more proactive in our country's issues. That is where I will start.
I think that the oil they skim must be sold since they have to do something with it. You can't stuff it back in the hole where it came from. That said, I think that the profits BP makes selling the oil should be donated to local businesses that are going to go out of business. It should be enough for them to keep the businesses going without customers long enough for them to either change their business model or wait for their business to return, which will take years.
Richard Hight
If BP is able to salvage anything from this and turn it into a profit just maybe the government should stock pile the money so it can be used in case of another national disaster in the Louisiana, Florida, Alabama. There could always be another Katrina or oil spill knocking at our door.
I think its a good idea to sell the oil, as long as the money is going towards relief efforts. The oil has to go somewhere. Why not into our gas tanks.
I for one have very mix felling about this, is the oil 100% useful to the things that we need. I know that oil is a very important resource that the world need, but I want the oil to be helpful to all needs. If the oil can bring back a profit to help build up the Gulf that all good and dandy, but don’t make us pay overprice for oil if we are already doing that in Louisiana, take it up north and make them pay for it.
I think that it is a good idea as long as the money would go towards relief efforts here along the coast. They obviously would just let all of that oil go to waste when they can make a profit off of it. Maybe they should give us a discount if we live on the gulf coast??
You try to give people the benefit of the doubt, but BP doesn’t event deserve the time wasted on a thought. Selling oil from the oil spill just goes to show that they only care about the almighty dollar. This is just like the democrats say, “don’t waste a good crisis” but this is BP’s spin on it.
I agree with Ashely. If the money is going towards relief efforts then go for it. BP needs to do something other than capping off the tanks and making up millions of excuses.
It is in everybody’s best interest for BP to find a buyer for the oil, so that the company can continue to provide the financial backing for the relief and cleanup efforts.
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