— One hundred days after the rig explosion that set off the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, the oil giant behind it is hoping to move beyond the losses, the gaffes and the live video that ran for weeks of the busted well coughing up massive amounts of crude every second. BP is replacing CEO Tony Hayward with Managing Director Robert Dudley, selling $30 billion in assets and setting aside $32.2 billion to cover the long-term cost of the spill. It’s also claiming a $9.88 billion tax credit in the second quarter based on the $32.2 billion charge.
— Army Corps of Engineers officials will be working closely with state officials to draw up a plan to restore coastal Louisiana. The corps plans to embed employees with Louisiana’s Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration. Coastal Louisiana has lost about 2,300 square miles of land since the 1930s. It is one of the fastest-eroding coastal areas in the world.
— A research team will return to the Gulf of Mexico next month to map underwater plumes of oil and gas, a University of Georgia oceanographer said. A team led by oceanographer Samantha Joye tracked one plume during research voyages in May and June. She said no one has made a systematic sweep around the massive oil spill in the Gulf to find other plumes. A federal report released Friday confirmed the existence of oil plumes.
— Gulf beaches from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle were closed or slapped with health warnings nearly 10 times more often this summer than last because of oil from BP’s massive deepwater leak, according to a report released Wednesday. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council’s annual survey of beach water quality.aid the oil spill affected 49 of 253 beach segments it monitors in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida. Texas beaches haven’t had any advisories or closings so far.
— Oil, natural gas and water continued to spew from a damaged well on a Louisiana waterway, one day after it was struck by a barge. The amount of oil emitted from the damaged wellhead is unclear but local officials have said it is “miniscule” compared to the BP spill.
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