Document Shows BP Estimates Spill Up to 100, 000 Bpd [View All]

[Elmore Furth]

Source: Reuters

By REUTERS
Published: June 20, 2010
Filed at 1:37 p.m. ET

Skip to next paragraph WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An internal BP Plc document released on Sunday by a senior U.S. congressional Democrat shows that the company estimates that a worst-case scenario rate for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill could be about 100,000 barrels of oil per day.

The estimate of 100,000 barrels (4.2 million gallons/15.9 million liters) of oil per day is far higher than the current U.S. government estimate of up to 60,000 barrels (2.5 million gallons/9.5 million liters) per day gushing from the ruptured offshore well into the sea.

The document appears to estimate the highest potential flow of oil if key components of the well fail. The document does not indicate that the 100,000 barrels per day is BP's estimate of the actual amount flowing from the ruptured Gulf of Mexico well.

The document states, "If BOP (blowout preventer) and wellhead are removed and if we have incorrectly modeled the restrictions -- the rate could be as high as ~ 100,000 barrels per day up the casing or 55,000 barrels per day up the annulus (low probability worst cases)"



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/06/20/news/news-us-oil-spill-markey.html?_r=1&ref=news