gulf coast

With security concerns in the Middle East receding and the commodities bubble deflating, oil prices are headed sharply lower. Gas prices should follow suit: Analysts say that prices will get 25 cents a gallon cheaper in the next few days, and drop even further as the summer rolls on.

The U.S. has approved the first permit to resume deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico since the BP oil spill a year ago. The Noble Energy project, 70 miles southeast of Venice, La., is slated to be deeper than the blown out BP well.

Facing widespread calls for boycotts, owners responded by hammering home the message that the U.K. oil company doesn't own most of the retail locations that bear its name. Now as anger fades, business is coming back, and few owners ditched the brand.

The recent fire at an oil production platform in the Gulf of Mexico has brought unexpected focus on the platform's owner, Mariner Energy. Here's more on a company that isn't well known outside oil circles.

The news of a fire on Vermillion, a Mariner Energy-owned oil-rig platform in the Gulf, drew instant comparisons with the Deepwater Horizon rig that exploded in April and caused the huge BP oil spill. But stark differences exist between the two incidents.

Transocean (RIG), owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig that exploded on April 20, said Monday it had addressed 90% of the recommendations made in a BP (BP) audit before the accident. "Overall rig maintenance aboard the Deepwater Horizon met or exceeded regulatory and industry standards and,...

BP delayed a crucial test that will determine if it can close a new cap on the leaking oil well in the Gulf of Mexico. The tests were meant to assess whether the well can handle the pressure of closing the cap at the wellhead.

What happens when companies pollute? Sometimes -- though not always -- they have to pay. BP's $20 billion fund to compensate for damages to the Gulf of Mexico ranks as the biggest environmental payout of all time. What other industrial giants make the list?

The embattled CEO stuck to his script Thursday, expressing contrition and offering empathy. But when lawmakers pressed Hayward for details and explanations, he wouldn't go beyond: "I think it's too early to reach conclusions."

President Obama tried to offer hope for the Gulf Coast, saying he had directed BP to take steps to "capture up to 90% of the oil." But his qualified language sounded hollow -- as did his green "national mission." And the oil gushes.