Latest Mississippi River Delta News: Oct. 4, 2013

Judge orders claims administrator to suspend BP settlement payments to some businesses
By Michael Kunzelman & Kevin McGill, Associated Press. Oct. 3, 2013.
“A federal judge has ordered the administrator of a multibillion-dollar settlement over BP’s 2010 Gulf oil spill to immediately suspend making settlement offers and payments to some businesses that claim the company’s 2010 oil spill cost them money…” (read more)

Appeals court gives BP a win in settlement dispute
By Associated Press. Oct. 3, 2013.
“A federal appeals court on Wednesday revived BP’s claims that a judge’s interpretation of a settlement over its 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico could force the company to pay billions of dollars for bogus or inflated claims by businesses…” (read more)

Halt on BP payments to ‘phony’ oil-spill victims      
By BBC. Oct. 3, 2013.
“The wording of the agreement it signed on paying compensation had meant, according to BP, that a court-appointed claims administrator was paying too much to some victims and also making payments to businesses that hadn’t suffered genuine losses…” (read more)

BP wins appeal over oil spill payments (Video)
By Reuters. Oct. 3, 2013.
“BP will be spared potentially billions of dollars – after a U.S. appeals court agreed that payments to oil spill claims have been too generous…” (read more)

Divided judges nudge BP lawsuit closer to U.S. Supreme Court
By John Kemp, Reuters. Oct. 3, 2013.
“BP has finally found a court prepared to look sympathetically on its arguments about the eligibility and calculation of compensation claims stemming from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill…” (read more)

BP boosts FTSE 100 but index still dogged by U.S. concerns
By David Brett, Reuters. Oct. 3, 2013.
“The UK’s leading shares held onto gains by midday Thursday, boosted by heavyweight BP which won a rare legal battle related to its oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, but U.S. debt worries continue to dent the index’s momentum…” (read more)

BP welcomes US court of appeal ruling on Gulf of Mexico oil spill payouts
By Angela Monaghan, The Guardian. Oct. 3, 2013.
“BP has secured a victory in its battle to limit payouts over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, in a move that could save the company billions of dollars…” (read more)

Court to halt some BP spill payouts
By Tom Fowler, The Wall Street Journal. Oct. 3, 2013.
“A federal appeals court ordered a lower-court judge to halt payments to some Gulf Coast businesses that say they suffered damage after the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico…” (read more)

Contract awarded to raise Mississippi River levee on east bank of Jefferson Parish
By Adriane Quinlan, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). Oct. 3, 2013.
“A $10.5 million contract to raise nine miles of Mississippi River levee on the east bank of Jefferson Parish has been awarded to Hernandez Consulting LLC of New Orleans…” (read more)

BP witnesses at oil spill trial say company acted correctly in stopping Gulf gusher
By Mark Waller, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). Oct. 3, 2013.
“The managing director of a Scottish oil drilling company who studied BP’s efforts at pinching off the billowing Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 testified in federal court Thursday morning that the company behaved appropriately…” (read more)

BP trial finishes look at well-closing push, turns next week to tallying how much oil gushed into the Gulf
By Mark Waller, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). Oct. 3, 2013.
“After BP witnesses spent the day backing the company’s claim that it did everything possible to stop the jet of oil in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010…” (read more)

Judge must reconsider BP’s motion to suspend certain types of claims
By David Hammer, WWL TV (New Orleans). Oct. 3, 2013.
“BP celebrated a rare victory Thursday in its fight to undo some parts of its multi-billion dollar oil spill claims settlement…” (read more)

BP shares rise after it wins battle to cap Gulf spill settlements
By Katherine Rushton, The Telegraph (UK). Oct. 3, 2013.
“BP shares rallied on Thursday, after the oil major won a victory in its battle to cap the compensation payouts to alleged victims of its Gulf of Mexico oil spill…” (read more)

BP wins review of challenged payouts to oil-spill victims
By Margaret Cronin Fisk & Jef Feeley, Bloomberg Businessweek. Oct. 3, 2013.
“BP persuaded an appeals court to order a re-examination of key terms of the 2010Gulf of Mexico oil-spill settlement that the company said could have cost it billions of dollars in improper payouts…” (read more)

Big Oil Races Back Into the Gulf of Mexico
By Matthew Philips, Bloomberg Businessweek.
“In October 2010, the Obama administration lifted its five-month ban on deepwater drilling in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico following BP disastrous oil spill…” (read more)

BP wins appeal against some Gulf claims
By Virginia Harrison, CNN Money. Oct. 3, 2013.
“BP has won a U.S. court ruling that could shrink the multi-billion dollar compensation bill the company faces over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill…” (read more)

Recovery of Gulf after BP oil spill still at heart of trial
By Miami Herald Editorial. Oct. 3, 2013.
“The second half of a complicated civil trial began this week in New Orleans over the 2010 Deepwater Horizon rig explosion that killed 11 workers and spewed crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico for 87 agonizing days…” (read more)

BP finally plugs flow of compensation following spill
By Gabriella Griffith, Management Today. Oct. 3, 2013.
“BP is celebrating a victory today after the US appeals court agreed to tighten the rules around compensation and halt certain payments to ‘victims’ of the Deepwater Horizon disaster  – potentially saving the oil giant billions of dollars…” (read more)

BP wins Macdondo spill compensation appeal
By Danielle Levy, CityWire. Oct. 3, 2013.
“BP has been successful in a legal appeal to limit its compensation settlement for the 2010 Macondo Deepwater Horizon disaster…” (read more)

Court Decision Will Save BP Billions, Party Breaks Out at HQ
By Douglas A. McIntyre, 24/7 Wall St. Oct. 3, 2013.
“Long after the Deepwater Horizon disaster, BP continues to battle those who do not believe they were adequately compensated for the fallout…” (read more)