Oil

The Obama administration dispatched inspectors to the Gulf of Mexico to check safety conditions aboard deepwater rigs. And officials blasted BP, owner of the downed rig, for not doing more to contain damage. Are new federal safety rules on the industry far behind? Brett Neely reports.

As sludge continues to leak in the Gulf of Mexico from BP's well at an estimated rate of 5,000 barrels a day, the British owner is bracing for an outpouring of legal costs from the state of Louisiana and beyond. Stephen Beard reports.

The government says the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is five times worse than originally thought. With 5,000 barrels of oil leaking every day, the spill is prompting new questions about the Obama administration's plan to expand offshore drilling. Jill Barshay reports.

BP is spending $6 million a day cleaning up the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and rival Shell has pitched a half-dozen vessels into the effort. Both companies have a lot at stake in the mess. Stephen Beard reports.

The U.S. Coast Guard set fire to parts of a giant oil slick that is spreading just off the Louisiana coast. Burning the oil is designed to keep it from drifting into coastal estuaries and wetlands filled with wildlife. John Dimsdale reports clean-up crews are facing no easy choices.

The oil slick from a platform explosion in the Gulf of Mexico is due to reach shore by the weekend. It could wreak havoc on the coastlines of four states. Sarah Gardner reports on the fallout for British Petroleum.

BP's latest offshore oil drilling accident off the coast of Louisiana is the deadliest mishap of its kind in the U.S. in 40 years. The incident will likely give a boost to anti-offshore sentiment. Stephen Beard reports.

Independent oil and gas producers are used to risking everything on a single drill. Those wildcatters pioneered the business of dragging fossil fuels out of the ground, and they're still at it today. Kate Archer Kent reports.

The International Energy Agency reports that global stockpiles of fuel are relatively high, and industrialized demand is a bit low. The agency says another big jump could be a blow to the global economic recovery. Stephen Beard reports.

British oil giant BP plans to invest in a controversial oil exploration project in Canada, a move which has made some of BP's biggest investors revolt. Stephen Beard explores why some groups are against the move.