Update Aug 26, 6:05 pm  EST: It has now been discovered by researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory that Microbes may be leading the way in cleaning up the BP oil spill. Their study shows that deep water oceanic microbes have been degrading the Gulf oil plume at a faster rate than predicted. Additionally, Federal government will be holding “dockside chats” with residence and fisherman to ensure Gulf seafood safety with shrimping season now underway.

Update Aug 21, 5:30 pm  EST: The BP oil spill by the numbers: 11 workers died, 2.1 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, 1.8 million gallons of dispersant (a non-surface active polymer added to help the separation of oil particles), $379 Million BP has already paid, and 3-4 years (the time it could take for the gulf waters to return back to normal).  Today, Gulf Oil Spill damage Control Administrator, Ken Feinberg announced his opinion on the no-sue requirement.

Update Aug 16, 6:30 pm  EST: Today Admiral Thad Allen announced that current priority for cleaning up the BP Oil Spill is now in relieving the building pressure inside the oil well and the government is coordinating with BP to make a final interception as well as pressure preventers to regulate pressure at the well.  Unfortunately this is not a permanent solution however he is confident of the he says he’s confident that the static kill will add stability.

Read the AM850 release in it’s entirety: Admiral Thad Allen Gives Update on Oil Spill Response

Update Aug 10, 6:50 pm  EST: Steven Chu, U.S. Secretary of Energy wrote today on the US Department of Engery Blog that:

“the results of the well integrity tests…indicated that the well was likely intact, and we saw no evidence that oil was leaking from the wellbore into the rock formation. This meant we would be able to safely pump fluid into the well to attempt to kill it.

During the static kill, the damaged well was filled with mud, stabilizing the pressure within the well and relieving a lot of the excess pressure on the damaged blowout preventer and ceiling cap. I am pleased to tell you that it was completed successfully.

This success led to a much more difficult decision: should we follow the mud with cement to further ensure that the well stays killed? This procedure had a higher risk of something going wrong. With cement, a mistake in execution could be permanent. We also had to weigh the dangers of having so many ships conducting operations within 1,500 meters of the wellbore and of the strain already being placed on the blowout preventer. Continued operations were also taking a toll on the ships’ crews; the longer they worked, the greater the danger. Still, the risk of something going wrong was very small, and the potential for dramatic progress was very high. Successfully cementing the well would be a major step toward completely killing the well. We decided to proceed with the cement.

All signs indicate that the cement is holding. This is a significant step forward for the people of the Gulf, but our work is not done. The relief well is the permanent solution, and we hope to be able to intersect the Macondo well with the relief well soon.

We don’t want any chance that oil will flow from the well again. I will continue to work closely with the science team and the BP technical engineers in the coming days to make sure that the well is completely killed.”

For more information on the latest from the US Department of Energy, be sure to visit their blog.

Update Aug 4, 12:30 pm  EST: Although oil still clogs the beaches of the gulf with tar balls as large as softballs and many swampland animals still in harms way, USA Today’s Gulf Oil Spill Map shows no sign of surface oil has been sighted in the gulf since yesterday.

Gulf Oil Spill Aug 4th, 2010

Update Aug 1, 12:15 pm  EST: BP prepares it’s self to launch the Bottom kill next week pumping thousands of gallons of mud and cement into the well in an attempt to kill it at the bottom of the well.  As of today its estimated that between 160 million and 210 million gallons of oil have leaked into the Gulf.

Gulf Oil Spill Aug 1st, 2010

Update July 29th, 11:15 pm  EST: 100 days of gulf oil spill coverage and a Marine Scientist is Raleigh, NC said today that “it’s unlikely oil from BP’s massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico will reach the East Coast”.  In other news, the Houston Chronicle reports that in the midst of oil spill legislation, politicians are taking on other energy issues.

Gulf Oil Spill July 29, 2010

Update July 27th, 8:45 pm  EST: Day 99 and Robert Dudley has been appointed at the new BP CEO.  The LA Times also reported today that a new gulf oil spill occurred after an abandoned oil well was crashed into by a barge. The new spill in Barataria Bay, La., about 35 miles south of New Orleans.

Gulf Oil Spill July 27, 2010

Update July 24th, 8:30 pm  EST: Day 96 and tropical storm Bonnie 2010 has the potential to delay oil spill containment work.   BP removes doctored oil spill photos from their Flickr account claiming they were posted by mistake.

Gulf Oil Spill July 24, 2010

Update July 21st, 12:30 am  EST: Day 93 of the gulf oil spill and BP’s apparent success of it’s school bus sized stacking cap has set BP in motion to execute it’s hopefully final measure of stopping the spill.   The static kill proposed will pump mud and cement into the well to permanently seal it.   Additionally, Tony Hayward will step down as CEO of BP.

Gulf Oil Spill July 21, 2010

Update July 5th, 6:30 pm  EST: NOLA reports the biggest fear now is oil entering the “Loop Current” which is the Gulf of Mexico’s warm ocean current that flows northward between Cuba and the Yucatán peninsula, thus spreading the oil out to further stretches of the Gulf. Currently, the western Florida panhandle will continue to be hit by oil while Western Florida has a low probability of seeing oil and the Florida Keys, Miami and Fort Lauderdale have a greater chance of seeing oil due to the Loop Current.

Gulf Oil Spill July 2, 2010

Gulf Oil Spill June 30, 2010

Update June 28, 12:30 am  EST: Hurricane Alex caused all gulf oil drilling companies to buckle down, although not slow production to avoid injury  to crew and equipment.  Cleanup ships are currently idled as Hurricane Alex rattles the Gulf.

Gulf Oil Spill June 28, 2010

Update June 22, 12:30 am  EST: BP oil spill costs have surpassed over $2 Billion (which does not include the $20 billion fund BP promised last week when meeting with President Obama) and paid out 32,000 claimants a total of $105 million. while the oil spill continues to leak out more than 100,000 barrels a day. On Wednesday a federal judge will decide if the six-month ban on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico will be extended.

Gulf Oil Spill June 21, 2010

Gulf Oil Spill June 19, 2010

Gulf Oil Spill June 16, 2010

Update June 14, noon EST: BP stock down nearly 40%, BP deciding whether or not to pay out dividends this quarter due to leak.  Obama tours Gulf Coast.  Beaches from Orange Beach, AL to Destin, FL have sporadic closures due to tar balls washing up on shore.  Orange Beach moves to promoting sunbathing over swimming as vacation season heats up.

Gulf Oil Spill June 14, 2010

Update June 11, 9:00 AM EST: Day 53 of the BP oil spill and Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen claims that over 4 million gallons of oil has been recovered from the Gulf from the 18 million gallons of oily water that has been skimmed thus far from the gulf.  Oil spill shifts to Florida beaches, Pensacola started posting warning signs this week.

Gulf Oil Spill June 11, 2010

Update June 8, 9:38 EST: Bob Dudley, Managing Director at BP, said the company has agreed to pay $360 million toward the berm project which will be directed at raising the walls of sand along Louisiana barrier islands to catch the oncoming slick.   Starting on Monday June 7th, tar balls as big as 4 inches in diameter were washing up on Florida’s Pensacola Beach and Perdido Key, however the giant oil slick still remains 5 to 10 miles offshore. President Obama has also announced his endorsement of plans to lift the cap on damages that oil companies must pay for a spill which is currently set at $75 million.

Gulf Oil Spill June 8, 2010

Update June 3, 1pm EST: Experts have predicted that the oil would probably wash up by tomorrow, making severe impacts on the natural environment of the so called “Redneck Riviera”. John Dosh, emergency director for Escambia County (Pensacola), has said “We are doing what we can do, but we cannot change what has happened”.

Gulf Oil Spill June 3, 2010

Update June 2, 10am EST: BP temporarily suspended its effort to contain oil leak this morning, after a specialty saw blade became stuck in a damaged pipe while Representative Charlie Melancon, a Napoleonville Democrat, called this morning on ABC’s “Good Morning America” for BP CEO Tony Hayward to step down questioning Hayward’s performance as BP has repeatedly failed to stop to oil leak and cap the damaged well.

Gulf Oil Spill June 1, 2010

Update May 27, 5pm EST: Its been 24 hours since the initiation of the top kill program and US Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen says it has stopped the oil flow for the time being, however this procedure historically has only been 60% effective and has never been tried at this depth before.   As of this update the Gulf Oil Spill has now surpassed the Exxon Valdez as Americas largest environmental disaster.

Gulf Oil Spill May 27, 2010

Gulf Oil Spill May 25, 2010

Gulf Oil Spill May 24, 2010

Gulf Oil Spill May 20, 2010

Gulf Oil Spill May 13, 2010

Gulf Oil Spill May 5, 2010

Gulf Oil Spill April 28, 2010

Gulf Oil Spill April 22, 2010

As the Gulf Oil Spill hits week three, nola.com has meticulously been tracking the flow of oil throughout the gulf.  The bad news is it’s finally making its way to shore, the good news is that it is traveling Northeast at the moment, giving momentary reprieve to vacationers heading to Florida beach destinations early this summer, however it’s predicted that the oil will continue to head to the shore, ultimately ending up in LA, AL and FL panhandle beaches.

This graphic of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill was built on flyover information from NAAO (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and animates the flow of oil from the first spill tracking date of April 22, 2010, the actual spill occurred April 20th.  The red dot is the location of the Deepwater Horizon oil well, which exploded killing eleven rig workers.

Head over to NOLA.com for up to date information on tracking the Gulf oil spill.