Amount of Spill Could Escalate, Company Admits

[jus_the_facts]

Source: NYT

WASHINGTON — In a closed-door briefing for members of Congress, a senior BP executive conceded Tuesday that the ruptured oil well in the Gulf of Mexico could conceivably spill as much as 60,000 barrels a day of oil, more than 10 times the estimate of the current flow.

The scope of the problem has grown drastically since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and sank into the gulf. Now, the discussion with BP on Capitol Hill is certain to intensify pressure on the company, which is facing a crisis similar to what the Toyota Motor Company had with uncontrolled acceleration — despite its efforts to control the damage to its reputation as a corporate citizen, the problem may be worsening.

Amid growing uncertainty about the extent of the leak, and when it might be stanched, pressure on BP intensified on multiple fronts Tuesday, from increasingly frustrated residents of the Gulf Coast to federal, state and local officials demanding more from the company.

At the briefing, Mr. Rainey and officials from Transocean and from Halliburton, which was providing cementing services on the platform, also acknowledged that they did not know how likely it was that oil from the spill would be caught up in the so-called loop currents in the gulf and be carried through the Florida Keys into the Atlantic Ocean. “What we heard today from BP, Halliburton and Transocean were a lot of worst-case scenarios without any best-case solutions,” said Representative Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, who leads the Energy and Environment Subcommittee of the House energy panel.



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/05/us/05spill.html?ref=us

[JuniperLea]

1. I never, ever believed "the official story" on this spill...

and the number of gallons lost daily. I expect this new number is low-balled too.

[jthorpe]

4. agreed

[KansDem]

6. That, and this...

In a closed-door briefing for members of Congress...

Always suspect...

[Newest Reality]

2. You spill things out of a container

and onto or into something.

This mess is gushing out like an eruption. Spill sounds nicer, don't it?

[JuniperLea]

5. Oopsie! Little spill here... watch yourself!

Yeah, just a little spill...

[Control-Z]

8. "Geyser" is the word that came to mind

when I explained to my daughter that it was not a "spill" that was being reported. She is an exceptionally bright teen who does follow the news, but only on the level I imagine most of the US adult population does.

This, with 5000 feet of water above it, is closer to how I imagine the "spill" probably looks.

[Ruby the Liberal]

3. I can't help but think - once they put that 100 ton 'funnel' down there,

couldn't that be a catalyst for breaking up the pipe where it sits?

That seems to be a lot of weight to be sitting on top of a pipe.

[ConcernedCanuk]

7. Hell, I knew that . . .

.
.
.

[Mark D.]

9. In Simplest Terms

The BEST CASE scenario leaves us with years of damage to fishing and wildlife in several highly populous states. A LIKELY scenario is that damage being donse to far more states, even south America and beyond. Worst case, as has been mentioned, which I hope isn't true, is the world's worst eco disaster. If conspiracy theorists are looking for that 'wipe out 2/3 or more of the world population' thing to come true, sorry guys, it's not the 'government big-brother boogeymen' doing it, it's your wonderful corporations. You know, the 'end all regulation libertarians' who flood tinfoil hat memberships, their friends, corporations. The 'hidden hand' of the 'free market'.

In simplest terms, we can expect years of damage to many states, and possibly several countries. A serious negative impact on millions, if not over a billion people. This is a world-wide disaster in the making. If the UN and its NWO 'one world government' plan horror stories were put to good use for anything, why not an international, no holds barred, no expense too high, assault on this problem. I mean every available naval fleet. Every scientist (stop trying to find a black hole in Switzerland for God's sake and help out here!) planning how to best stop this. Once it's at least capped, how to permanently seal it, and then clean up in a non-toxic way.

[Ruby the Liberal]

10. You might enjoy this short Thom Hartman video:

He is talking with Dr. Riki Ott, who is a Marine Biologist/Toxicologist.

Her take on this is sobering as she notes the fallout from Valdez and possible ramifications in the Gulf.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x462013

[uppityperson]

11. "could" "might" are weasel words meaning "not news". Here's another DU LBN link

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4369468&mesg_id=4369468

The runaway well spewing crude into the Gulf of Mexico might be sealed within as little as two weeks


The runaway well spewing crude into the Gulf of Mexico might be sealed within as little as two weeks using a new, untested approach that has emerged in the last two days, BP CEO Tony Hayward told the Houston Chronicle today.