BP oil well 'effectively dead'

The blown-out well at the heart of the worst oil spill in U.S. history has been cemented shut and is "effectively dead," the federal government's point man for the disaster said Sunday. The well erupted on April 20 and spewed an estimated 4.9 million barrels(206 million gallons) of crude into the Gulf of Mexico before it was temporarily capped in July.

Finally, the well has been capped. Many people (including myself) thought that this process was going to take a lot longer than this. If you think about it though this process still is not done. Yes, the well is shut and is no longer leaking oil, but there is still some oil that remains below the surface, and years of economic and environmental recovery in the region lie ahead.

BP may have shut the well, but they are still not admired. The federal government will press for answers and lawsuits-- including those brought by the families of the 11 workers who died in the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion-- will eventually make there way through the courts. There is still a long road ahead for BP as they try to regain their title as an oil giant. Which they still are, but they may not be respected as much after this oil spill. But they say, "BP is doing everything we can to make this right. We continue to... clean up the environment, and make sure that people are compensated for legitimate claims," its website says. I just hope that they actually do make this right.

P.S. The link to this story will be shared through my twitter.

-HR