Three Gulf Research Institutions to Receive First Round of $500 Million Funding

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Release date: 15 June 2010

BP today announced significant progress in its half-billion dollar pledge to the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GRI). Three research institutions in the Gulf region will receive a total of $25 million in fast-track funding for high-priority studies of the distribution, composition and ecological interactions of oil and dispersant.

On May 24 BP announced a commitment of up to $500 million to the GRI open research program to study the impact of the Deepwater Horizon incident, and its associated response, on the environment and public health in the Gulf of Mexico.

"It is vitally important that research start immediately into the oil and dispersant's impact, and that the findings are shared fully and openly," said BP chief executive Tony Hayward. "We support the independence of these institutions and projects, and hope that the funding will have a significant positive effect on scientists' understanding of the impact of the spill."

Three initial studies will help establish critical baseline data as the foundation for subsequent research. In this first round of funding, GRI is providing:

$5 million to Louisiana State University;
$10 million to the Florida Institute of Oceanography (FIO) hosted by the University of South Florida;
$10 million to the Northern Gulf Institute (NGI), a consortium led by Mississippi State University (NGI).


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