ConocoPhillips (COP) News

WASHINGTON, July 21 (UPI) -- U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says he has apologized to a department official he fired and hopes she "considers staying with the department."

Vilsack's statement came hours after the Obama administration formally apologized to Shirley Sherrod, who was fired Monday over comments taken out of context.

"On behalf of our administration, I offer an apology," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said during Wednesday's daily briefing.

Gibbs acknowledged that the administration had not seen a full tape of Sherrod's comments prior to Tuesday evening.

"Look, a disservice was done, an apology is owed," he said. "That's what we've done."

A conservative Web site had posted a video of Sherrod, who is black, in which she appeared to be talking about her past hesitancy in dealing with white farmers but was in fact explaining how she overcame her own race-based dispositions.

Vilsack said Wednesday he contacted Sherrod to apologize and told her he was "sorry for the pain this caused her and her family and friends."

"I reacted too quickly," he said. "I should have taken the time to listen and learn."

Vilsack said he and Sherrod discussed "a unique opportunity at USDA."

"With all that she has seen, endured and accomplished, it would be invaluable to have her experience, commitment and record of service at USDA," he said. "I hope she considers staying with the department."

Sherrod said Tuesday she might not want her job back, ABC News reported.

"Because of all the publicity surrounding what happened … how would I be treated once I'm back there? I just don't know," she said. "I would have to be reassured on that."

VENICE, La., July 21 (UPI) -- U.S. officials Wednesday authorized BP to continue testing a damaged gulf oil well and asked the company to provide updates on the potential impact of weather.

Briefing reporters, National Incident Commander Thad Allen said he asked Bob Dudley, the chief managing director of BP, "given the potential for a tropical storm that could enter the Gulf of Mexico in the next 48 hours or so, to provide me an assessment of potential impacts regarding source control operations and other options to mitigate impacts of the weather."

Allen said the timing of efforts to finish relief wells and other operations would depend on tropical storm conditions.

"The other thing we want to understand is if for some reason we have to evacuate the area, we want to make sure that we optimize the amount of monitoring that we can do up to the time when we have to have vessels leave," he said.

Allen said if it becomes necessary to evacuate the area "and then come back and redeploy, we can be looking at 10 to 14 day gaps in whatever our lines of operations are, whether it's containment or actually proceeding with the drilling rig."

Pressure slowly rose Wednesday in BP's damaged Gulf of Mexico well as officials tried to decide whether to pump it full of mud.

BP said on its Web site that pressure had increased to 6,844 pounds per square inch by Wednesday morning in the damaged well, up 10 psi since Tuesday afternoon.

The Transocean Deepwater Horizon oil rig operated by BP exploded April 20, killing 11 workers and touching off a massive oil spill that has seen millions of gallons flowing into the gulf, fouling animals, wetlands and beaches.

"Currently the well remains shut-in with no oil flowing into the gulf," BP said, saying the well integrity test was continuing and was being monitored actively.

Oil also has been discovered leaking 2 miles away at another production site.

"At this point we do not have anomalies that say we don't have integrity," BP Vice President Kent Wells said. "As each day goes along it gives us confidence."

The New Orleans Times-Picayune said it could be 24 more hours before BP decides whether to attempt to plug up the well entirely.

WASHINGTON, July 21 (UPI) -- Four oil company giants say they plan to design and manufacture equipment to respond to spills such as the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

They also plan to reassure members of Congress worried about future deepwater drilling, The Washington Post said.

The Wall Street Journal said the four companies are pooling $1 billion to underwrite the joint venture.

Exxon Mobil, Shell, ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) and Chevron are set to unveil the plan Thursday, which would prepare much of the equipment that BP only began to design and assemble after the disaster, the Post report said.

The Deepwater Horizon exploded April 20, killing 11 workers. The rig sank into the Gulf of Mexico two days later. Oil gushed from the crippled well a mile below sea level for almost three months until it was temporarily stopped last week.

The Post said the new plan focuses on how to stop the flow of oil from a leaking subsea well quickly and how to channel the oil to vessels nearby. Sources in the industry told the Post the plan will probably include a containment cap.

The Journal said the joint venture's equipment will include a containment vessel, capable of capturing up to 100,000 barrels of crude oil per day, and other high-tech equipment.

"This will be state-of-the-art response equipment," one company told the Journal. "In the event the unthinkable happens, we will be able to respond within 24 hours of the incident."

The plan surfaces as Congress is considering new requirements for deepwater offshore drilling, halted by a six-month moratorium imposed by the Obama administration.

WASHINGTON, July 21 (UPI) -- The treasurer of the U.S. Republican National Committee has submitted documents he says show $2 million in debts were hidden from committee members.

Randy Pullen submitted the financial disclosure reports as many Republicans worry this latest in a series of internal problems at the RNC could hinder the party's chances of making gains in the November elections, Politico.com reported Wednesday.

Pullen's revelation comes just months after RNC Chairman Michael Steele reacted to widely publicized fundraising controversies at the committee by firing much of his staff and bringing in new faces charged with cleaning up the RNC's operations.

Now Republicans find themselves facing rumors of more firings and possible audits as the election campaign season gets under way in earnest.

Pullen said improvements have been made at the committee to ensure RNC board members are kept up-to-date.

The committee's undisclosed debt was first reported by The Washington Times.

The RNC blamed tardy payments on its debts partly on internal efforts to streamline and improve its internal financial systems. RNC spokesman Doug Heye denied that any financial information had been kept from Pullen and said the committee paid all its outstanding bills earlier this month.

"There is no hiding of anything," said Heye, adding that the RNC is now debt-free.