bp

VENICE, La.--Energy giant BP, its reputation battered by a catastrophic oil spill threatening the U.S. Gulf shore, said on Monday it is working to stem the gushing undersea leak and promised to pay for the cleanup and compensation claims.

As black, oil-infused water neared the Louisiana shoreline, the London-based company has come under heavy criticism and pressure from President Barack Obama and the U.S. public to do more to stop, or at least control, what is fast turning into the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

The swelling slick, estimated to be at least 130 miles … Read more

VENICE, La.--President Barack Obama will visit the Gulf Coast this weekend to back efforts to avert a environmental disaster threatened by a huge, growing oil slick forecasters said was being driven ashore by winds.

The visit, which White House officials said on Saturday would be within the next 48 hours, signaled Obama was anxious to be seen to be paying close attention to the cleanup and containment of one of the worst oil spills in U.S. history.

Swelled by oil gushing unchecked from a ruptured deepwater well in the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana, the 130-mile by 70-mile … Read more

With hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil threatening some of America's richest wetlands and fisheries, crews grappling with the massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico have at their disposal new technologies never before available in such a disaster.

To be sure, oil spill response is a largely low-tech business that hasn't changed that much over the years. But as the aftermath of the explosion and subsequent sinking of the semi-submersible offshore oil rig Deepwater Horizon looks increasingly like it may result in the country's worst environmental catastrophe in decades, there are some ways that technology … Read more

It's robots to the rescue in the Gulf of Mexico--or at least that's what British oil giant BP hopes following a disastrous explosion and oil spill at the Transocean Deepwater Horizon oil rig, 130 miles southeast of New Orleans.

Officials have deployed robotic submarines in an effort to contain the spill, which has grown to cover an area measuring some 1,900 square miles. BP quoted National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration experts as saying the spill is "very thin" and on the surface of the ocean.

The agencies have deployed four remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to the wellhead about 5,000 feet below the ocean surface.

They are monitoring the leak, which was discovered Saturday, as well as trying to activate the blowout preventer, a 50-foot-tall, 450-ton mass of valves that can cap the wellhead and stop the oil flow.

The ROVs--which include machines such as the Millennium by oilfield engineering company Oceaneering--have apparently been on the job for several days, but without success. While ROVs have been used by the oil and gas industry for more than 30 years, this particular mission is highly complex due to the great depth of the wellhead, as well as the first of its kind.

"If you can visualize it, it's like robotic arms doing something outside the space station," BP spokesman Ron Rybarczyk was quoted by The Guardian as saying. "It is operating something with a mechanical claw on it that grasps things and turns things and adjusts equipment way down at the floor of the ocean." … Read more

The solar power division of energy giant BP said on Friday it plans to close its Maryland manufacturing facility, a sign of the heightened international competition in solar.

BP Solar opened a facility in Frederick, Md., three and a half years ago to make solar panels but decided to find locations where it can "manufacture cheaply," BP CEO Tony Hayward told The Washington Post. The move will result in 320 lost jobs. BP Solar will retain about 100 people to work in research and development, according to reports.

Although demand for solar panels is generally strong, solar manufacturers … Read more

In anticipation of the upcoming World Cup, BP Castrol Japan has built a machine that kicks a football (or soccer ball, if you're American) at over 125mph. According to the MSNBC video, in comparison, Ronaldo (no mention if they mean the Portuguese or Brazilian superstar) kicks at about 80mph. According to an article on Guardian, a 114mph shot was recorded by a David Hirst from English club Sheffield Wednesday in 1996--still less powerful than what the machine is capable of.

This contraption is a promotional item and will be showcased during the tournament in South Africa. Trust the Japanese … Read more

These days, what separates Blu-ray players from one another has less to do with how they play Blu-rays--they all do that pretty well--and more to do with the sort of extra features they offer. Many players, for instance, can access a variety of online entertainment options, including Amazon Video On Demand, Pandora, Vudu, and especially Netflix. Unfortunately, JVC's latest player doesn't have any of those online features. In fact, it can't even access the online extras found on some Blu-ray Discs.

JVC has released an entry-level Blu-ray player, the XV-BP11 ($200), which--surprisingly--only complies with the older Blu-ray … Read more

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Everyone from politicians, investors, and consumers tout the potential of solar and wind technologies.

But even BP, a company that changed its tagline to "Beyond Petroleum," sees renewable energy as a very small piece of the global energy picture--a situation that's not likely to change in the coming decades, according to BP's chief scientist, Steven Koonin.

Koonin spoke here on Monday to Massachusetts Institute of Technologies' energy student fellows, part of a campuswide initiative to promote technology innovation in energy.

BP is perhaps the most high-profile oil and gas company to take alternative energy … Read more

Correction 10:20 a.m. PST: This blog misstated the day that BP CEO Tony Hayward spoke at the conference. It is Tuesday.

WASHINGTON--Amid rumors that BP will sell its alternative-energy business, company Chief Executive Tony Hayward on Tuesday said that the current scale of the clean-tech industry will not be enough to address the world's energy challenges.

Hayward spoke at the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference (WIREC) 2008 where he called for more aggressive government policies to address both climate change and energy security, which he said were interlinked.

Specifically, he said that nations need adopt a market-based … Read more