Lawmakers to urge BP to idle its Atlantis rig

[kpete]

Source: Reuters

Lawmakers to urge BP to idle its Atlantis rig
Joshua Schneyer
NEW YORK
Wed May 19, 2010 8:02pm EDT


NEW YORK (Reuters) - A group of lawmakers will recommend BP be ordered to idle its Atlantis oil and gas platform in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico until federal regulators can prove the region's second biggest rig is operating safely.

More than 20 Democratic lawmakers signed a letter on Wednesday with language that urges the Minerals Management Service to shut down Atlantis, which pumps up to 200,000 barrels per day of crude, pending a safety probe. The letter, given to Reuters, will be delivered to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar early Thursday, congressional staff said.

"We urge MMS to listen to the expert engineer who reviewed the Atlantis situation and called for an immediate shutdown until it can be shown that this platform is operating safely," the letter said.

An earlier, February 24 letter from 19 lawmakers to the MMS urged an investigation into Atlantis's safety, months ahead of the rig explosion at BP's Macondo field in April and resulting oil spill and environmental disaster.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64I4AE20100520?type=politicsNews

[tomm2thumbs]

1. 'urge'? how about 'instruct' them to do it - and do it for them if they refuse

who is running the show here anyway?

[me b zola]

4. +1

"Urging BP" is not the response that I am hoping for from Congress. Really shows who is the slave and who is the master.

[liberal N proud]

7. We all know who is running the show

It is not the people

[toppertwot]

9. Who is running this show?

BP is running this show. That is why BP -with the help of the US Coast Guard- ran off those reporters taking photos where BP oil was making land fall. I have also read that BP does not allow fly over photos of their oil spill. BP is running this show and making up their very own laws as the go.

[FirstLight]

2. shut 'em ALL down!

If we had the same level of attention, money, resources and research going into wind and solar energy...we'd never have to drill again.

I pray this mess will result in some BIG shifts in our way of usine and creating energy.

We can do this...even if the big oil corps think they run the show...we can beat them!

I don't know how, but I beleive we can.

[jtrockville]

3. Did they say "pretty please"?

[BrklynLiberal]

5. "URGE"???!!! How about they SHUT THEM DOWN!! IMMEDIATELY!!

How is this kind of oil spill not potentially a threat to national security? Where is the Homeland Defense Department in this????

[valerief]

6. So Congress now legislates 'urges'? Why not a damn law? nt

[Auggie]

8. And they sent a letter, no less.

[joanmj]

10. at least

they are being told to quit using the dispersant as long as long-term affects are not known. I think the safety inspectations should be stepped up--like today on the other rigs.

[highplainsdem]

11. The Reuters headline is misleading. They're urging MMS to shut down Atlantis now.

They're not asking BP to do this. They're asking the agency to order BP to shut the rig down immediately.