Particle.news
Download on the App Store
6 ARTICLES
·
3w ago

Groups Sue to Block Trump Approval of BP’s Kaskida Deepwater Project

The case tests offshore safety rules following recent moves to relax protections.

FILE - The Deepwater Horizon oil rig burns on April 21, 2010, in the Gulf of Mexico, more than 50 miles southeast of Venice, La. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
File - The BP (British Petroleum) logo is seen at a gas station in Washington, Oct. 25, 2007. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)
Image

Overview

  • Environmental and Gulf groups, represented by Earthjustice, filed in the 11th Circuit on Monday to halt the Interior Department’s March approval of BP’s $5 billion Kaskida oil project.
  • Plaintiffs say required safety and technical details were missing or flawed, alleging BP understated a worst‑case spill by at least 500,000 barrels and failed to show it can contain a blowout at the site.
  • The Interior Department defends the decision as rigorous and says the project would unlock about 275 million barrels, while BP calls the suit unfounded and says it can drill safely under U.S. rules.
  • Kaskida sits about 250 miles off Louisiana in water nearly 6,000 feet deep, and BP projects production of about 80,000 barrels a day starting in 2029 if the plan proceeds.
  • The challenge lands as the administration exempts Gulf drilling from parts of the Endangered Species Act and moves to merge BOEM and BSEE into a Marine Minerals Administration to speed offshore permits.