BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil catastrophe in 2010 appears to be a distant memory for oil companies drilling in the Gulf today.

The BP Deepwater Horizon oil rig ablaze. (photo: U.S. Coast Guard)The Houston Chronicle reports:

“We are quite optimistic on the outlook for the Gulf of Mexico,” Schlumberger [the world's largest provider of oil field services and equipment] CEO Paal Kibsgaard said during a conference call with analysts. “We should be at pre-Macondo levels for deep-water drilling rigs by the latter part of 2012.”

BP itself seems to be unaffected by the disaster. The Telegraph reports:

Bob Dudley said that BP had in fact had its best year in three decades for gaining new exploration acreage last year – despite the damage the company’s reputation took after the spill and explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig in April 2010.

Yet the effects of the BP oil disaster are far from over for many of the residents in the area.Facing South reports:

A new video from the Louisiana Environmental Action Network features first-hand accounts from mothers and grandmothers about the chronic health problems afflicting an alarming number of children who live in the Gulf. Watch ithere: