BP, Halliburton to testify at Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing May 11

Oil from Gulf spill creeps ashore in Louisiana

By Matthew Bigg

VENICE, Louisiana (Reuters) – Oil from a massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico came ashore on a chain of islands off the Louisiana coast on Thursday as BP Plc engineers prepared to start lowering a 98-ton metal chamber over the ruptured seabed well miles off the coast.

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The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has slated a hearing on May 11 to examine the oil spill

Lamar McKay, president of BP America, Steven Newman, head of Transocean Ltd which owned the oil rig that exploded on April 20, and Tim Probert, president of Halliburton, have been called on to testify. Halliburton helped cement in place the blown-out well.

The attorneys-general of Gulf states threatened by the spill -- Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas -- sent a letter to President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder seeking to establish a group to prepare for any damage assessment initiatives, enforcement or litigation relating to the spill.

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