Donate today and get a Marketplace mug — perfect for all your liquid assets! Donate now

From This Collection

Congress to probe for real amount of spill at BP oil leak

May 14, 2010
Congress wants to determine how much oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico from the accident at the BP oil rig. Although BP has said 5,000 barrels a day were spilling from the well, new reports say it could be more than 10 times that amount.

BP oil spill hearing moves to House

The House of Representatives will hear testimony from oil executives who shared responsibility in the BP oil rig disaster. John Dimsdale covers the finger-pointing and a proposed $10 billion liability cap.
Transocean President and CEO Steven Newman, right, testifies with BP America Chairman and President Lamar McKay, left, during a Senate hearing over who's to blame for the Deepwater Horizon explosion.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Who benefits from Gulf oil spill?

May 11, 2010
We're all losers from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. But there are going to be some winners, too. Rob Schmitz explains.

A plan to split offshore oil agency

May 11, 2010
Executives from BP and its drilling rig partners tried to explain to the Senate Energy Committee how the Gulf oil accident wasn't their fault. Now changes may be coming to the agency that regulates offshore drilling. Brett Neely reports.

BP, Transocean explain oil leak to Congress

Heads of BP, Transocean and Halliburton are on Capitol Hill this morning to explain to Congress what went wrong in the BP oil accident. A lot of finger-pointing is expected. Stacey Vanek-Smith talks to John Dimsdale.
An oil boom is seen washed ashore as the rain and high wind make it difficult to lay the booms out so they stay in place in an attempt to protect sensitive areas from the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in Bay St. Louis, Miss.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

BP using problematic chemical to disperse oil

May 11, 2010
BP has bought a stockpile of a chemical called Corexit to use on the oil slick, a product that breaks up the slick into tiny droplets that sink underwater. Environmentalists worry the toxic material will hurt sea life. Jill Barshay reports.

BP oil leak could hurt seafood demand

May 10, 2010
Alongside the gargantuan clean-up costs of the BP oil leak are the costs to the local seafood industry, which supplies more than 20% of the nation's seafood. The spill has a huge potential impact on demand. Sabri Ben-Achour reports.

For public good, not for profit.

Choppy waters ahead for offshore oil

May 6, 2010
With all this oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico, what do folks in the energy industry think it means for their fortunes? Rob Schmitz reports that for folks at the annual Offshore Technology Conference, it's been a nail-biter.

Transocean oil safety a reoccuring issue

May 6, 2010
In light of the Gulf of Mexico incident, this is not the first time that Transocean, which built the faulty oil rig, has had safety issues. Stacey Vanek-Smith talks to Marketplace's Stephen Beard, who recalls the company's troubles in Britain.
Orange-colored chemical dispersant flows through the water off the coast of Louisiana to help the massive oil spill.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Oil industry talks drilling safety

May 6, 2010
Offshore drilling safety is the focus of an annual oil industry gathering in Houston. Some wonder why more countries don't require an acoustic switch that could help prevent accidents. Stacey Vanek-Smith talks to Marketplace's Rob Schmitz.
The Pollution Control Dome leaves Port Fourchon, LA. onboard an oil work boat as it makes it way to cap the source of the oil slick from the BP Deepwater Horizon platform disaster in Louisiana.
Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images