US Court Rules Against BP on Oil Spill Settlement Payments Dispute

A federal judge denied BP PLC's plea to halt payments from a settlement fund set up to reimburse businesses and individuals for losses from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon accident.

During a hearing in New Orleans Friday morning, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier rejected BP's arguments that the fund administrator, Patrick Juneau, was misinterpreting how claims should be assessed and payments calculated, according to lawyers who attended the hearing. BP claims the fund has made millions of dollars in payments for "fictitious" claims.

Lawyers representing the claimants argued the claims formulas were approved by BP. "The court's ruling speaks for itself," said Steve Herman, one of the lead lawyers representing thousands of businesses and individuals.

BP said in a statement that it has already appealed an earlier decision on the fund's payments to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

BP said it still believes that Mr. Juneau's interpretation of payment formulas is wrong, resulting in "unjustified windfall payments to numerous business claimants for non-existent, artificially calculated losses."

The ruling wasn't a surprise given Judge Barbier's previous rejection of BP's arguments, said Tom Claps, an analyst and legal expert with Susquehanna Capital, who has closely followed the case. It will be very difficult for the oil giant to score a victory at the appeals court because the settlement was "extensively negotiated, drafted and approved by BP and its legal team," Mr. Claps said.

The hearing took place during a break in the ongoing civil trial aimed at determining the degree of culpability that BP and other companies have for the accident. Judge Barbier has heard six weeks of testimony from employees of BP, drilling rig owner Transocean Ltd., cement contractor Halliburton Co. and expert witnesses.

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Judge Rules CSB Has Jurisdiction Over Deepwater Horizon Accident

A federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Chemical Safety Board has jurisdiction to investigate the 2010 Deepwater Horizon accident in the Gulf of Mexico.

A Congressional committee had asked the board, which typically investigates accidents at chemical plants and refineries, to examine the oil-rig explosion and accident, which killed 11 workers and triggered the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

But Transocean Ltd., which owned the drilling rig that sank during the explosion, refused to honor subpoenas issued by the board in 2010 and 2011 for documents and employee testimony. It argued that the board lacked jurisdiction over offshore oil spills and that most of the documents had been turned over to other government agencies.

U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal disagreed with Transocean, ruling late Monday that it had to honor the subpoenas because legislation that created the board, known as the CSB, didn't bar it from looking at all offshore incidents. He noted that the investigation focused on the explosion on the rig, not the ensuing oil spill. The House Energy and Commerce Committee had asked the board to compare the Deepwater Horizon disaster to a lethal 2005 explosion at what was then BP PLC's Texas City, Texas refinery.

Transocean didn't immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.

"This ruling greatly supports the CSB's ongoing investigation and will enable CSB investigators to access critical information that might have otherwise been unavailable," the board said in a statement.

The board issued a report last July concluding that offshore oil and gas drillers put too much emphasis on issues such as individual worker injuries while neglecting other indicators of danger, such as whether safety equipment is being maintained on schedule.

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Judge Rules CSB Has Jurisdiction Over Deepwater Horizon Accident

A federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Chemical Safety Board has jurisdiction to investigate the 2010 Deepwater Horizon accident in the Gulf of Mexico.

A Congressional committee had asked the board, which typically investigates accidents at chemical plants and refineries, to examine the oil-rig explosion and accident, which killed 11 workers and triggered the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

But Transocean Ltd., which owned the drilling rig that sank during the explosion, refused to honor subpoenas issued by the board in 2010 and 2011 for documents and employee testimony. It argued that the board lacked jurisdiction over offshore oil spills and that most of the documents had been turned over to other government agencies.

U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal disagreed with Transocean, ruling late Monday that it had to honor the subpoenas because legislation that created the board, known as the CSB, didn't bar it from looking at all offshore incidents. He noted that the investigation focused on the explosion on the rig, not the ensuing oil spill. The House Energy and Commerce Committee had asked the board to compare the Deepwater Horizon disaster to a lethal 2005 explosion at what was then BP PLC's Texas City, Texas refinery.

Transocean didn't immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.

"This ruling greatly supports the CSB's ongoing investigation and will enable CSB investigators to access critical information that might have otherwise been unavailable," the board said in a statement.

The board issued a report last July concluding that offshore oil and gas drillers put too much emphasis on issues such as individual worker injuries while neglecting other indicators of danger, such as whether safety equipment is being maintained on schedule.

Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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TRC Adopts New Hydraulic Fracturing Water Reuse Rules

The Texas Railroad Commission (TRC) Tuesday adopted new rules to encourage Texas operators to continue their efforts at conserving water used in the hydraulic fracturing process for oil and gas wells, even though hydraulic fracturing and total mining use accounts for less than 1 percent of statewide water use, with irrigation, municipalities and manufacturing making up state’s top three water consumers.

Major changes adopted to the Commission’s water recycling rules include eliminating the need for a Commission recycling permit if operators are recycling fluid on their own leases or transferring their fluids to another operator’s lease for recycling. The changes adopted by the Commission today also clearly identify recycling permit application requirements and reflect existing standard field conditions for recycling permits.

Chairman Barry Smitherman said, "By removing regulatory hurdles, these new amendments will help foster the recycling efforts by oil and gas operators who continue to examine ways to reduce freshwater use when hydraulically fracturing well."

Commissioner David Porter said, "Water use has been a major concern examined by my Eagle Ford Shale Task Force, and I commend our staff for working to streamline our rules to encourage more recycling."

Commissioner Christi Craddick said, "Just as our operators have used technology to bring us into this modern day boom of oil production, they are also using technology to reduce their fresh water use. The changes adopted today will assist in those efforts."

The rule amendment also establishes five categories of commercial recycling permits to reflect industry practices in the field:

On-lease Commercial Solid Oil and Gas Waste Recycling

Off-lease or Centralized Commercial Solid Oil and Gas Waste Recycling

Stationary Commercial Solid Oil and Gas Waste Recycling

Off-lease Commercial Recycling of Fluid; and

Stationary Commercial Recycling of Fluid

The changes to the rule also establish a tiered approach for the reuse of treated fluid, including both authorized reuse of treated fluids in oil and gas operations and provisions for reusing the fluid for other non-oilfield related uses.

Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.

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TRC Adopts New Hydraulic Fracturing Water Reuse Rules

The Texas Railroad Commission (TRC) Tuesday adopted new rules to encourage Texas operators to continue their efforts at conserving water used in the hydraulic fracturing process for oil and gas wells, even though hydraulic fracturing and total mining use accounts for less than 1 percent of statewide water use, with irrigation, municipalities and manufacturing making up state’s top three water consumers.

Major changes adopted to the Commission’s water recycling rules include eliminating the need for a Commission recycling permit if operators are recycling fluid on their own leases or transferring their fluids to another operator’s lease for recycling. The changes adopted by the Commission today also clearly identify recycling permit application requirements and reflect existing standard field conditions for recycling permits.

Chairman Barry Smitherman said, "By removing regulatory hurdles, these new amendments will help foster the recycling efforts by oil and gas operators who continue to examine ways to reduce freshwater use when hydraulically fracturing well."

Commissioner David Porter said, "Water use has been a major concern examined by my Eagle Ford Shale Task Force, and I commend our staff for working to streamline our rules to encourage more recycling."

Commissioner Christi Craddick said, "Just as our operators have used technology to bring us into this modern day boom of oil production, they are also using technology to reduce their fresh water use. The changes adopted today will assist in those efforts."

The rule amendment also establishes five categories of commercial recycling permits to reflect industry practices in the field:

On-lease Commercial Solid Oil and Gas Waste Recycling

Off-lease or Centralized Commercial Solid Oil and Gas Waste Recycling

Stationary Commercial Solid Oil and Gas Waste Recycling

Off-lease Commercial Recycling of Fluid; and

Stationary Commercial Recycling of Fluid

The changes to the rule also establish a tiered approach for the reuse of treated fluid, including both authorized reuse of treated fluids in oil and gas operations and provisions for reusing the fluid for other non-oilfield related uses.

Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.

View the original article here