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Saturday, June 19, 2010 – Daily News – 7A Getting life back? BP CEO on way off spill duty NEW ORLEANS (AP) — BP’s chairman said Fri- day that CEO Tony Hay- ward is on his way out as the company’s point man on the Gulf oil spill crisis, a day after Hayward enraged members of Congress by offering few answers about how the environmental dis- aster happened. It was unclear when the switch will occur. BP Chairman Carl-Hen- ric Svanberg told Britain’s Sky News television on Friday that Hayward ‘‘is now handing over the oper- ations, the daily operations to (BP Managing Director) Bob Dudley.’’ BP had said this month that Dudley would take over the long- term response to the spill once the leak was stopped, but millions of gallons con- tinue to spew and that mile- stone remains months away. Svanberg’s statement sowed confusion, with other BP officials saying Hayward remains in charge. Spokesman Toby Odone said ‘‘Nothing has changed’’ since the earlier announcement regarding Dudley, and spokesman Tristan Vanhegan said the ‘‘board still has confidence in Tony.’’ BP’s move overshad- owed some positive news in the cleanup effort. Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen announced earlier Friday that a newly expanded con- tainment system is captur- ing or incinerating more than 1 million gallons of oil daily, the first time it has approached its peak capac- ity. And the system will soon grow. By late June, the oil giant hopes it can keep nearly 90 percent of the flow from hitting the ocean. But the massive leak, set off by an oil rig explosion that killed 11 workers near- ly two months ago, will not be stopped completely until at least August. BP has been hammered for its response, in part because of comments by Hayward that Gulf Coast residents horrified by the spill con- sider insensitive. Hayward shocked resi- dents in slick-hit Louisiana by saying, ‘‘I would like my life back.’’ He was quoted by the Times of London suggesting that Americans were particular- ly likely to file bogus claims — a statement that gained significance Friday when a House committee said BP has paid less than 12 percent of claims sub- mitted. President Barack Obama suggested he would fire Hayward if he could. On Thursday, Hayward told lawmakers on a U.S. House investigations panel that he was out of the loop on decisions surrounding the blown well. Both Democrats and Republi- cans were infuriated when he asserted, ‘‘I’m not stonewalling.’’ ‘‘It is clear that Tony has made remarks that have upset people,’’ said Svan- berg, who made a misstep of his own this week when he said BP cares ‘‘about the small people.’’ But he added that Hayward ‘‘is also a man who has proba- bly been on 100 hours of TV time and maybe 500.’’ Dudley, an American- born oil man with more than 30 years in the indus- try, has been BP’s manag- ing director since 2009. His responsibilities include broad oversight of the com- pany’s activities in the Americas and Asia, and earlier this month he was named head of the compa- ny’s disaster management unit. Svanberg told Sky News that no matter who is heading BP’s oil spill response, ‘‘as long as we don’t close the well and take care of this, there will be criticisms about many things.’’ Many Gulf Coast resi- dents and business owners who have been economi- cally devastated by the spill are still waiting for com- pensation from BP. The House Judiciary Commit- tee said data it has collect- ed shows that BP has paid $71 million out of an esti- mated $600 million in out- standing claims as of Tues- day. It based the figure on data it collected from BP’s daily reports to the Coast Guard on claims and on discussions with BP. The committee said not one of the 717 claims for bodily injury, or the 175 claims for diminished home property value, have been paid. ‘‘I remain concerned that BP is stiffing too many victims and shortchanging others,’’ said the commit- tee’s chairman, Michigan Democrat John Conyers. BP spokesman Scott Dean said in an e-mail that the company had paid out $95 million as of Friday, and it had written about 30,000 checks to settle about half of the 63,000 claims it has received. The chief of the Inde- pendent Claims Facility — the newly created office charged with distributing $20 billion in compensa- tion from BP — said a plan to handle the remaining damage claims will be in place in 30 to 45 days. Kenneth Feinberg said he hopes to have a program going forward that would provide payment within 30 to 60 days of someone sub- mitting a new claim. Those pledges don’t mean much to Jerry Forte, who filed a business claim with BP more than a month ago and hasn’t seen a dime. His seafood processing business on the docks in Pass Christian, Miss., used to bring in more than $1 million a year but now is practically shuttered. ‘‘I’m 99 percent down. They took all the shrimp boats. I don’t have anybody shrimping,’’ Forte said Fri- day. ‘‘My bank accounts are all going down to noth- ing because we’re spending it all on bills, just waiting on BP.’’ The slow claims process is just one of many criti- cisms lawmakers and the public have had with BP’s response to the spill — and many of the toughest com- plaints have been directed at Hayward. Rep. Bart Stupak, D- Mich., said the CEO’s from our family to yours Bring Dad in to Perkos on this Special Day & the whole family receives a gift. POP’S SAMPLER 2 pancakes, 2 eggs, 2 bacon, 2 sausage links, ham, linguisa and hash browns. 3 egg omelette, stuffed with hickory smoked bacon, cheddar cheese and green onions. Topped with sour cream and chives. Served with country spuds and toast. “BIG DADDY” OMELETTE 2 juicy patties with cheese and stuffed with Mushrooms, Ortega Chili & Steak Sauce. A-1 STUFFED BURGER STEAK & SHRIMP$ Down Home Dinners all including choice of 2 side dishes only $ Soup or Salad & your 1000 ea. 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If not, his tenure will likely be as short lived as Mr. Hayward’s.’’ The recent oil contain- ment efforts are a rare bit of good news for BP and sug- gest that its engineers are getting better at trapping oil after a two-month string of failures with equipment that clogged, proved inef- fective or was simply aban- doned. ‘‘This is a significant improvement moving for- ward,’’ said Adm. Allen, the top federal official in charge of the spill. But there’s still much that can go wrong, from strained hoses breaking to ships colliding in the crowded seas over the leak. A bolt of lightning that hit a drill ship this week started a fire and halted oil collec- tion for hours. Stopping the leak will require a pair of relief wells that are not expected to be ready until August, although drilling has gone faster than expected. ‘‘Certainly stopping it is the first step and the impor- tant thing anyone can do,’’ said Ed Overton, a profes- sor of environmental stud- ies at Louisiana State Uni- versity. ‘‘Mother Nature can handle a lot of insult. China Buffet CHINESE RESTAURANT Open 7 Days A Week Sunday Buffet Special $ 9.99 Expires 6-30-10 COUPON China Buffet Happy Hours Monday Lunch $ All Day $6.99 Tuesday - Saturday 6.99 Dinner $ 9.99 343 S. Main St. Red Bluff 530-529-5888 (No Checks) Mercy Catholic High School 233 Riverside Way Red Bluff CA 96080 (530) 527-8313 Would like to acknowledge with gratitude and appreciation all of the generous donors who supported our Kevin Snider Physical Therapy, Anderson In & Out Burger, Irvine CA Premier West Bank Medford OR Waterworks Park, Redding CA Italian Cottage Chico CA Eachus Family Big 5 Brenda Snider Sac Zoological Society Van Ert family Keller family Mary O’Keefe Mercy High School Class of 2010 Jeanne Tomascheski Dr. & Mrs. Marc Griffey Joyce Evans Terri and Bill Misslin Don and Jean Bagley Ms. Annarae Luevano Dr. & Mrs. Robert Shoff Janet and Ed Grens Kelly and Mitch Crane Gasman family Germano family Taco Bell Wild Oak Thomas friends etc Fleet Feet, Redding 7-Up RC of Chico Syed family Tehama County Realtors 2010 SOBER GRAD. Bell-Carter Foods Red Bluff Emblem Club Carol and Lee Hazel Red Bluff Lions Club Sierra Nevada Brewing Co Pacific Farms Elmore Pharmacy William Moore Native Daughters Mariah Kingwell Keane Family Tom & Maria Lowe Mary Ann Kellar Tehama Fire Fighters Benevolent Fund Garaventa family McCarthy and Rubright Shasta Live Stock Auctions Rolling Hills Casino Heitman Drilling John Kenny Bob Frank Mr. & Mrs. Lonny Singer Dr. David Dennis Sierra Pacific Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Sobieralski Thomas Family Terri Sobieralski Mr. & Mrs. David Gasman Fifth Sun Dutch Bros. Red Bluff Special thanks to our 2010 Sober Grad Committee • Glenda Eachus • Carol Germano • Theresa Gasman • Janet Grens • Terri Sobieralski • Kim Inman • Anne Coelho • Laurie Nelson • Michelle Van Ert • Michelle Rosauer • Liz Thomas • Lisa Keane • Dawn Vietti • Kelly Crane and MHS students Benicia Grace • Laura Germano • Sara Gasman And the Mercy Faculty and Parents who chaperoned the event. Thank You All and God Bless You. Congratulations Class of 2010! It’s just when you pile it and pile it and pile it.’’ Even if the new contain- ment systems are a success, it could take months for those living along the Gulf Coast to notice any improvement. Experts say oil could be washing up for another six months, and it may take years for wildlife populations harmed by the spill to rebound to levels seen before the leak. To collect oil, BP now has a containment cap sit- ting over a well bore that is siphoning oil and gas to a drill ship on the ocean sur- face. Separate lines are pulling oil and gas from beneath a stack of pipes above the seafloor to a drilling rig where the flow is burned. Engineers have been working since Wednesday to bring that system to full speed. The ability to contain oil should grow as BP and the federal government move toward getting oil-trapping equipment in place that could better withstand Gulf hurricanes. In addition, BP wants to take off the exist- ing cap in July and replace it with one of three possible designs that would offer a tighter seal and siphon oil to two ships waiting above. Cutting back on the flow would give cleanup crews some breathing room. Ownership Under New 10 % off COUPON on dinner only (everyday) Expires 6-30-10 COUPON