NOAA is tracking it like a hurricane! :lol
Whats with all these disasters lately?
Is it because of the planets aligning side by side for the first time in history?spoiler (click to show/hide)A.K.A December 21st 2012 O.O[close]
From the Press-Register:http://blog.al.com/live/2010/04/deepwater_horizon_secret_memo.html
"Two additional release points were found today. If the riser pipe deteriorates further, the flow could become unchecked resulting in a release volume an order of magnitude higher than previously thought."
In scientific circles, an order of magnitude means something is 10 times larger. In this case, an order of magnitude higher would mean the volume of oil coming from the well could be 10 times higher than the 5,000 barrels a day coming out now. That would mean 50,000 barrels a day, or 2.1 million gallons a day.
It gets betterQuoteFrom the Press-Register:http://blog.al.com/live/2010/04/deepwater_horizon_secret_memo.html
"Two additional release points were found today. If the riser pipe deteriorates further, the flow could become unchecked resulting in a release volume an order of magnitude higher than previously thought."
In scientific circles, an order of magnitude means something is 10 times larger. In this case, an order of magnitude higher would mean the volume of oil coming from the well could be 10 times higher than the 5,000 barrels a day coming out now. That would mean 50,000 barrels a day, or 2.1 million gallons a day.
:rofl
Very curious to see where the final finger is going to point.
Why is the governement getting involved? Personally I'd rather we wait for a free market solution to this problem.
The worst-case scenario for the broken and leaking well gushing oil into the Gulf of Mexico would be the loss of the wellhead currently restricting the flow to 5,000 barrels -- or 210,000 gallons per day.
If the wellhead is lost, oil could leave the well at a much greater rate, perhaps up to 150,000 barrels -- or more than 6 million gallons per day -- based on government data showing daily production at another deepwater Gulf well.
By comparison, the Exxon Valdez spill was 11 million gallons total. The Gulf spill could end up dumping the equivalent of 4 Exxon Valdez spills per week.
FFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUU (http://blog.al.com/live/2010/04/gulf_mexico_oil_spill_worst_case.html)Quote from:The worst-case scenario for the broken and leaking well gushing oil into the Gulf of Mexico would be the loss of the wellhead currently restricting the flow to 5,000 barrels -- or 210,000 gallons per day.
If the wellhead is lost, oil could leave the well at a much greater rate, perhaps up to 150,000 barrels -- or more than 6 million gallons per day -- based on government data showing daily production at another deepwater Gulf well.
By comparison, the Exxon Valdez spill was 11 million gallons total. The Gulf spill could end up dumping the equivalent of 4 Exxon Valdez spills per week.
At least BP will go bankrupt. Small consolation, but at least we have that.
Everything is going to be alright./
Leaked report: Government fears Deepwater Horizon well could become unchecked gusher
By Ben Raines
April 30, 2010, 2:18PM
'The following is not public' document states
This image provided by the U.S. Coast Guard Saturday April 24, 2010, shows oil leaking from the drill pipe of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig after it sank. A confidential government report on the unfolding spill disaster makes clear the Coast Guard now fears the well could be on the verge of becoming an unchecked gusher shooting millions of gallons of oil per day into the Gulf. A confidential government report on the unfolding spill disaster in the Gulf makes clear the Coast Guard now fears the well could become an unchecked gusher shooting millions of gallons of oil per day into the Gulf.
"The following is not public," reads the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Emergency Response document dated April 28. "Two additional release points were found today in the tangled riser. If the riser pipe deteriorates further, the flow could become unchecked resulting in a release volume an order of magnitude higher than previously thought."
Asked Friday to comment on the document, NOAA spokesman Scott Smullen said that the additional leaks described were reported to the public late Wednesday night. Regarding the possibility of the spill becoming an order of magnitude larger, Smullen said, "I'm letting the document you have speak for itself."
To be fair, the ocean had a good run.
How do you even begin to clean up something like this? How far can it spread? Is it even possible to stop more from leaking?
How do you even begin to clean up something like this? How far can it spread? Is it even possible to stop more from leaking?
I don't think we know the answer to the first two, but the answer to your last question looks like no.
I'd say BP's image is pretty much shot.
I'd say BP's image is pretty much shot.
You think? :-\
Yeah, they're not dead. The only thing dead are all the shrimp. :'(
Yeah, they're not dead. The only thing dead are all the shrimp. :'(
Earthquakes, volanic eruptions, economic malaise, environmental disasters, tsunamis, floods, famines, wars.
Awesome start to a millennium.
Plus it seems that Obama wants to start billing them imediately for the governments involvement.At least BP will go bankrupt. Small consolation, but at least we have that.
Yeah, Exxon seems to be doing ok after the Valdez. In fact, I don't think they've paid all of the court ordered settlement yet either. Pays to be richer than God.
Oil spill disaster ‘out of control’
Tony Allen-Mills and Craig Guillot in New Orleans
The Gulf of Mexico oil spill may be growing five times faster than previously estimated and is in danger of accelerating out of control, it was claimed yesterday.
Experts said satellite data indicated the oil was gushing from BP’s sunken Deepwater Horizon rig at 25,000 barrels a day. Previous estimates had put the leak at 5,000 barrels a day.
Professor Ian MacDonald, an ocean specialist at Florida State University, said the new estimate suggested the leak had already spread 9m gallons of heavy crude oil across the Gulf. This compares with 11m that leaked from the Exxon Valdez tanker when it hit a reef off Alaska in 1989.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said deteriorating conditions on the sea bed may result in an even greater flow of 50,000 barrels a day, sufficient to produce one of America’s worst ecological disasters.
Experts and officials said their greatest fear was that a disintegration of pipes close to the rig could produce an “unchecked gusher” that would ravage America’s southern coastline.
<...>
Did you guys see the daily show thursday? It featured a clip of Obama saying hey guys oil rigs are actually very safe, drill baby drill bla bla. And now look what happened.
This isn't change I can believe in. >:(
Banks: TOO BIG TO FAIL
Big Oil: TOO BIG TO FAIL
Big Pharma: TOO BIG TO FAIL
:american
I'd say BP's image is pretty much shot.
Poland: too small and insignificant to give free missile defense systems
Poland: too small and insignificant to give free missile defense systems
(http://somewhatmanlynerd.com/gifs/averyjohnsonlookup.gif)Poland: too small and insignificant to give free missile defense systems
Poland: Just pile everyone from the government into a single rickety old plane and have them land in the fog.
Are the news media just waiting for millions of oil covered birds to wash ashore before this gets more attention? Fucking Exxon Valdez was on 24/7 when it happened and this is going to put it to shame.Seems so. No one is talking about this and news stations are barely covering it. It's really fucking sad.
(http://somewhatmanlynerd.com/gifs/averyjohnsonlookup.gif)
That guy looks like PeeDee.
He also looks a bit like the "im da best mayynne" guy on youtube.
Some caller on the radio yesterday seriously suggested that they try sealing it with a miniature nuclear device.People are stupid.
Some caller on the radio yesterday seriously suggested that they try solving the stupid people question by using a giant nuclear device.
Venice, Louisiana (CNN) -- If using a massive dome to cover the source of the oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico doesn't work, crews are preparing for another option: clogging it.
Engineers are examining whether they can close a failed blowout preventer by stuffing it with trash, said Adm. Thad Allen, the commandant of the Coast Guard. The 48-foot-tall, 450-ton device sits atop the well at the heart of the Gulf oil spill and is designed to stop leaks, but it has not been working properly since the oil rig Deepwater Horizon exploded April 20 and later sank.
"The next tactic is going to be something they call a junk shot," Allen told CBS's "Face the Nation" on Sunday. "They'll take a bunch of debris -- shredded up tires, golf balls and things like that -- and under very high pressure, shoot it into the preventer itself and see if they can clog it up and stop the leak."
"Gentlemen, at this point in time, all of our efforts to contain the oil spill have failed. The dome, clogging it with trash, firing nuclear weapons at it, building a bigger dome to fit over the original dome. That is why we now believe the best course of action is to create a new oil spill, causing both oil slicks to converge and begin total protonic reversal. Godspeed and God bless America."
Venice, Louisiana (CNN) -- If using a massive dome to cover the source of the oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico doesn't work, crews are preparing for another option: clogging it.
Engineers are examining whether they can close a failed blowout preventer by stuffing it with Wilco, said Adm. Thad Allen, the commandant of the Coast Guard. The 48-foot-tall, 450-ton device sits atop the well at the heart of the Gulf oil spill and is designed to stop leaks, but it has not been working properly since the oil rig Deepwater Horizon exploded April 20 and later sank.
"The next tactic is going to be something they call a jew shot," Allen told CBS's "Face the Nation" on Sunday. "They'll take a bunch of Wilco -- legs, badonkadonk, and things like that -- and under very high pressure, shoot it into the preventer itself and see if they can clog it up and stop the leak."
Though Engineers are concerned that Wilco's mass might not be enough, given his elliptical workouts in the last few months.
This is reminding me of this Post Apocalyptic short I read a couple months ago, where humans evolve into sand eating beings via technology (due to fleshy food sources dieing off) and oceans of oil due to disregard for the environment. Can't wait.
That guy looks like PeeDee.
He also looks a bit like the "im da best mayynne" guy on youtube.
This is reminding me of this Post Apocalyptic short I read a couple months ago, where humans evolve into sand eating beings via technology (due to fleshy food sources dieing off) and oceans of oil due to disregard for the environment. Can't wait.
Name and source?
Quote from: CNNVenice, Louisiana (CNN) -- If using a massive dome to cover the source of the oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico doesn't work, crews are preparing for another option: clogging it.
Engineers are examining whether they can close a failed blowout preventer by stuffing it with Wilco, said Adm. Thad Allen, the commandant of the Coast Guard. The 48-foot-tall, 450-ton device sits atop the well at the heart of the Gulf oil spill and is designed to stop leaks, but it has not been working properly since the oil rig Deepwater Horizon exploded April 20 and later sank.
"The next tactic is going to be something they call a jew shot," Allen told CBS's "Face the Nation" on Sunday. "They'll take a bunch of Wilco -- legs, badonkadonk, and things like that -- and under very high pressure, shoot it into the preventer itself and see if they can clog it up and stop the leak."
Though Engineers are concerned that Wilco's mass might not be enough, given his elliptical workouts in the last few months.
Giant Plumes of Oil Found Forming Under Gulf of Mexico
By JUSTIN GILLIS
Scientists are finding enormous oil plumes in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, including one as large as 10 miles long, 3 miles wide and 300 feet thick in spots. The discovery is fresh evidence that the leak from the broken undersea well could be substantially worse than estimates that the government and BP have given.
“There’s a shocking amount of oil in the deep water, relative to what you see in the surface water,” said Samantha Joye, a researcher at the University of Georgia who is involved in one of the first scientific missions to gather details about what is happening in the gulf. “There’s a tremendous amount of oil in multiple layers, three or four or five layers deep in the water column.”
The plumes are depleting the oxygen dissolved in the gulf, worrying scientists, who fear that the oxygen level could eventually fall so low as to kill off much of the sea life near the plumes.
Dr. Joye said the oxygen had already dropped 30 percent near some of the plumes in the month that the broken oil well had been flowing. “If you keep those kinds of rates up, you could draw the oxygen down to very low levels that are dangerous to animals in a couple of months,” she said Saturday. “That is alarming.”
The plumes were discovered by scientists from several universities working aboard the research vessel Pelican, which sailed from Cocodrie, La., on May 3 and has gathered extensive samples and information about the disaster in the gulf.
Scientists studying video of the gushing oil well have tentatively calculated that it could be flowing at a rate of 25,000 to 80,000 barrels of oil a day. The latter figure would be 3.4 million gallons a day. But the government, working from satellite images of the ocean surface, has calculated a flow rate of only 5,000 barrels a day.
BP has resisted entreaties from scientists that they be allowed to use sophisticated instruments at the ocean floor that would give a far more accurate picture of how much oil is really gushing from the well.
“The answer is no to that,” a BP spokesman, Tom Mueller, said on Saturday. “We’re not going to take any extra efforts now to calculate flow there at this point. It’s not relevant to the response effort, and it might even detract from the response effort.”
The undersea plumes may go a long way toward explaining the discrepancy between the flow estimates, suggesting that much of the oil emerging from the well could be lingering far below the sea surface.
The scientists on the Pelican mission, which is backed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the federal agency that monitors the health of the oceans, are not certain why that would be. They say they suspect the heavy use of chemical dispersants, which BP has injected into the stream of oil emerging from the well, may have broken the oil up into droplets too small to rise rapidly.
BP said Saturday at a briefing in Robert, La., that it had resumed undersea application of dispersants, after winning Environmental Protection Agency approval the day before.
“It appears that the application of the subsea dispersant is actually working,” Doug Suttles, BP’s chief operating officer for exploration and production, said Saturday. “The oil in the immediate vicinity of the well and the ships and rigs working in the area is diminished from previous observations.”
Many scientists had hoped the dispersants would cause oil droplets to spread so widely that they would be less of a problem in any one place. If it turns out that is not happening, the strategy could come under greater scrutiny. Dispersants have never been used in an oil leak of this size a mile under the ocean, and their effects at such depth are largely unknown.
Much about the situation below the water is unclear, and the scientists stressed that their results were preliminary. After the April 20 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon, they altered a previously scheduled research mission to focus on the effects of the leak.
Interviewed on Saturday by satellite phone, one researcher aboard the Pelican, Vernon Asper of the University of Southern Mississippi, said the shallowest oil plume the group had detected was at about 2,300 feet, while the deepest was near the seafloor at about 4,200 feet.
“We’re trying to map them, but it’s a tedious process,” Dr. Asper said. “Right now it looks like the oil is moving southwest, not all that rapidly.”
He said they had taken water samples from areas that oil had not yet reached, and would compare those with later samples to judge the impact on the chemistry and biology of the ocean.
While they have detected the plumes and their effects with several types of instruments, the researchers are still not sure about their density, nor do they have a very good fix on the dimensions.
Given their size, the plumes cannot possibly be made of pure oil, but more likely consist of fine droplets of oil suspended in a far greater quantity of water, Dr. Joye said. She added that in places, at least, the plumes might be the consistency of a thin salad dressing.
Dr. Joye is serving as a coordinator of the mission from her laboratory in Athens, Ga. Researchers from the University of Mississippi and the University of Southern Mississippi are aboard the boat taking samples and running instruments.
Dr. Joye said the findings about declining oxygen levels were especially worrisome, since oxygen is so slow to move from the surface of the ocean to the bottom. She suspects that oil-eating bacteria are consuming the oxygen at a feverish clip as they work to break down the plumes.
While the oxygen depletion so far is not enough to kill off sea life, the possibility looms that oxygen levels could fall so low as to create large dead zones, especially at the seafloor. “That’s the big worry,” said Ray Highsmith, head of the Mississippi center that sponsored the mission, known as the National Institute for Undersea Science and Technology.
The Pelican mission is due to end Sunday, but the scientists are seeking federal support to resume it soon.
“This is a new type of event, and it’s critically important that we really understand it, because of the incredible number of oil platforms not only in the Gulf of Mexico but all over the world now,” Dr. Highsmith said. “We need to know what these events are like, and what their outcomes can be, and what can be done to deal with the next one.”
The damage to Kuwait was minimal, all things considered. This will wreak havoc with the Gulf for years.I wasn't referring to the damage for Kuwait, I was referring to the hundreds of oil wells lit on fire and raged for months putting tens maybe hundreds of barrels of oil into the air.
http://motherjones.com/environment/2010/05/oil-spill-bp-grand-isle-beach
big, faceless conglomerate is in charge of a small town.
This thing hasn't stopped leaking yet either, right? :(
Because, as the Democrats have learned, his pockets are lined with corporate dollars too - just like the rest of 'em.
Because, as the Democrats have learned, his pockets are lined with corporate dollars too - just like the rest of 'em.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/05/05/bp.lobbying/index.html
wow a whopping $71,000Because, as the Democrats have learned, his pockets are lined with corporate dollars too - just like the rest of 'em.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/05/05/bp.lobbying/index.html
The oil and gas industry donated $2.4 million to Palin's running mate, Republican John McCain, in the 2008 election cycle, and nearly $900,000 to Obama, according to the Times, which cites data from the Center for Responsive Politics' opensecrets.org website.http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2010/05/palin-criticizes-obama-on-gulf-oil-cleanup/1
The federal guv is sitting on their ass, twiddling their thumbs and is not taking responsibility for the lives of its citizens, environment and wildlife.What specific solutions should he have used? Wasn't the oil spill originally supposed to be under the control of the company responsible, unless they couldn't handle it, and didn't BP give estimates that were ten times too low?
GW handled Katrina better.
I think America loves dying black birds more than dying black people.;)
Exactly. It's difficult to fix, but it'd really take some weight off my shoulders if they acted like they gave a shit.http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=21508725&postcount=1953
It's a disaster and Katrina was a disaster. That's about the only similarity worth mentioning imo. Everything else is pretty different, starting with the tons of people who died.This. You see people dying, starving, "looting/scavenging" and you immediately use any and all resources and worry about the correct procedures later. Plus a lot of the actual city got destroyed which is just unprecedented.
"I know really, really, really smart people that work typically at depths much greater than what that well is at," Cameron said. But according to the Oscar-winning director, BP officials are not among them.:lol
I still can't believe they are actually calling Hollywood people in on this, I thought it was an internet joke or something :rofl
To be fair, calling in Kevin Costner wasn't such a bad idea since his brother built that sweet machine. I don't really get calling Cameron, unless he too had connections to people with sweet machines (and the only way to contact said people is to go through Cameron).
I still can't believe they are actually calling Hollywood people in on this, I thought it was an internet joke or something :rofl
To be fair, calling in Kevin Costner wasn't such a bad idea since his brother built that sweet machine. I don't really get calling Cameron, unless he too had connections to people with sweet machines (and the only way to contact said people is to go through Cameron).
HOUSTON (Reuters) – BP Plc took risky shortcuts in drilling its Macondo well that "increased the danger of a catastrophic well failure," two U.S. lawmakers probing the well's blow-out and the worst U.S. oil spill said on Monday.
"It appears that BP repeatedly chose risky procedures in order to reduce costs and save time and made minimal efforts to contain the added risk," said Representatives Henry Waxman and Bart Stupak, the top Democrats on the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee.
BP opted for a well design with few barriers to impede a "kick" of methane gas that surged up the drilling pipe and set off a catastrophic series of explosions in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, and failed to ensure that the drill pipe was adequately sealed with cement to prevent an influx of flammable gas, the lawmakers said.
The lawmakers disclosed the details in a letter to BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward, who is slated to testify before the committee on Thursday. BP declined to comment on the letter.
"It would be inappropriate to comment on these matters in advance," BP spokesman Toby Odone said in a written comment. "No doubt they will raise these matters during the hearing."
The letter presents a potentially damning account of key decisions made by BP drilling officials in the days before the catastrophic explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig that killed 11 workers and eclipsed the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster as the worst U.S. oil spill.
The letter, a synthesis of facts gathered by the Energy and Commerce Committee's investigations panel, portrays BP engineers as under the gun and in a hurry to wrap up drilling operations, which were running more than 40 days late.
To drill the well, BP leased the Deepwater Horizon rig from Swiss-based Transocean at a rate of about $500,000 a day, and the drilling delays meant an extra $21 million in leasing fees, lawmakers said.
In some cases, BP ignored warnings from contractors like Halliburton Co and their own employees and chose faster and cheaper drilling options, they said.
On April 15, five days before the explosion, BP drilling engineer Brian Morel wrote in an email to a BP colleague: "This has been (a) nightmare well which has everyone all over the place."
On April 16, BP opted for a minimal number of "centralizers" in the well that were meant to ensure that the casing ran straight to aid the cement in setting properly.
Halliburton suggested that BP use 21 centralizers to reduce the potential for gas to flow into the well casing, but BP decided to use only six even though Halliburton warned of a "SEVERE gas flow problem."
When informed that extra centralizers were available in Houston and could be flown to the rig the same morning, BP well team leader John Guide responded, "It will take 10 (hours) to install them .... I (am) very concerned about using them."
BP drilling engineer Brett Cocales emailed Morel, "But, who cares, it's done, end of story, will probably be fine and we'll get a good cement job."
"So Guide is right on the risk/reward equation."
Lawmakers said BP had flown a team of engineers from Schlumberger Ltd to the rig to perform a cement bond log to ensure that the cementing job was adequate, but decided not to use their services.
BP flew a crew from Schlumberger to the rig on April 18, but told them on the morning of April 20 that their services were not required, lawmakers said. The decision "may have been driven by concerns about expense and time," the lawmakers said.
The Schlumberger crew flew off the rig at 11:15 a.m. on April 20.
At 9:53 p.m. that evening, the rig exploded, and sank a mile beneath the Gulf of Mexico two days later.
BP still isn't listening to Halliburton btw. :-\
No, fuck that. Our government needs a total overhaul before anyone starts drilling again. This shit can't happen again.
I'm in LA, work in the drilling industry, and will be the first to tell you that there are many other wells that might be unsafe. Still, the odds of something like this happening again are very low.
Problem being of course: diminishing production from existing sources + growing global demand + new/renewable sources unable to take up the gap = we're fucked.
Challenger odds? Those would be 1/275. We're fucked. :usacry
Challenger odds? Those would be 1/275. We're fucked. :usacry
:shhspoiler (click to show/hide)I thought of that after the 'post.' I also doubt there was much willful negligence in the Challenger's case.[close]
I do believe in actually enforcing some of the regulations though. This puts me in the minority. :'(
The sad thing is if there is one area where the government can affect change easily it's with engineering standards. Engineers love standards! It makes there lives both easier and more difficult, which is what engineers like.:lol which is why we needed 20 years to retrofit the bay bridge.
The sad thing is if there is one area where the government can affect change easily it's with engineering standards. Engineers love standards! It makes there lives both easier and more difficult, which is what engineers like.:lol which is why we needed 20 years to retrofit the bay bridge.
Akala, how long until we all die?
So do you guys think that if it looks like we're on the verge of impending doom that Disney will bump up the release of Tron Legacy?
Probably not.
BP admits 'lobbying UK over Libya prisoner transfer scheme but not Lockerbie bomber'
BP is facing fresh scrutiny into whether it was involved in the release of the Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi, after the oil giant admitted lobbying the British government over a prisoner agreement with Libya.
BP said it pressed for a deal over the controversial prisoner transfer agreement (PTA) amid fears any delays to negotiations would damage its “commercial interests” and disrupt its £900 million offshore drilling operations in the region.
But it denied claims that it had been involved in negotiations concerning the release of Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber freed by Scottish authorities last year.
The admission came just hours after Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, pledged to investigate allegations of BP's involvement in his release ahead of its planned new drilling in Libya.
It followed a letter from four US senators who had accused the company of having a hand in the release of Megrahi, who was released last year by the Scottish government on "health grounds" and compassionate grounds.
Mrs Clinton’s intervention came after the American Democratic senators called for an investigation into BP’s interests in Libya, as they tried to connect the oil group with a deal to free the convicted terrorist.
Increasing the pressure on BP, John Kerry, the chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee, said it would hold a hearing on the release of Megrahi on July 29, at which representatives of company would be called to testify.
“I opposed Megrahi’s release on medical grounds last year as a travesty and the details that have emerged in recent days in the press have raised new concerns,” said Mr Kerry.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the company admitted it had lobbied the British Government over the controversial prisoner deal but denied any involvement in Megrahi’s release.
“It is matter of public record that in late 2007 BP told the UK Government that we were concerned about the slow progress that was being made in concluding a prisoner transfer agreement with Libya,” the company said in a statement.
“We were aware that this could have a negative impact on UK commercial interests, including the ratification by the Libyan Government of BP's exploration agreement.”
But a spokesman added: “The decision to release Mr al-Megrahi in August 2009 was taken by the Scottish Government.
“It’s not for BP to comment on the decision of the Scottish Government.
“BP was not involved in any discussions with the UK Government or the Scottish Government about the release of Mr al-Megrahi.”
Company sources later attempted to play down the statement, saying it was “old news”.
A spokesman for David Cameron, the Prime Minister, also denied there was a link between his release and the company.
There was “no link between the Scottish executive’s decision to release Megrahi” and BP, the Prime Minister’s spokesman told reporters in London.
It was a fresh blow to BP, which is battling to save its reputation after the Gulf of Mexico oil slick while it also faced a series of attacks from US politicians.
Frank Lautenberg, a Democratic senator from New Jersey, led calls for an investigation into whether BP helped to secure the early release of Megrahi.
“It is shocking to even contemplate that BP is profiting from the release of a terrorist with the blood of 189 Americans on his hands,” Mr Lautenberg wrote in a letter to the Senate foreign relations committee.
His colleague Robert Menendez added: "If BP is found to have helped free this mass murderer that would further de-legitimise the Scottish court's decision to grant him compassionate release.”
On Thursday, the two Californian senators also joined the calls for BP to face an official investigation.
In a letter to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein wrote: “Commercial interests - oil or otherwise - should never be prioritised over justice for victims of terrorist acts and severe punishment for convicted terrorists”.
Last year Jack Straw admitted to The Daily Telegraph that Libyan trade and oil were an "essential part'' of the Government's decision to include the bomber in the PTA.
The former Justice Secretary said he was unapologetic about including Abdelbaset al Megrahi in the agreement, citing a multi-million-pound oil deal signed by BP and Libya six weeks later.
UK PM in DC to talk BP with VP. Damn, I just lost my Twitter license.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/29/scientists-find-evidence_n_664298.html?ref=twitter
:-\