Smoking Barrels
Gulf Of Mexico Oil Spill Is Five Times Worse Than Originally Believed
Government officials say that the ruptured well is spewing five times more crude than originally was estimates while the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico continues to expand. Since strategies to stop the leak failed, the Coast Guard ended up having a news conference on Wednesday night. It was told to reporters by Rear Adm. Mary E. Landry that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration changed the estimate of the leak from 1,000 to 5,000 barrels a day. There is experimenting with burning the oil slick going on with cleanup crews working on the oil spill. It is reported that the oil spill might reach the gulf coast of Louisiana by Friday night. Landry said the US military might be called for assistance as the crisis escalates, which would cost a lot of cash today.
Gulf coast oil spill accelerating
The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has been spreading since April 20 when a drilling rig leased by BP exploded and sank about 50 miles off the Louisiana coast, leaving 11 workers missing and presumed dead. Originally it was believed by experts that the oil came from two leaks in the riser, which happens to be a 5,000 foot long pipe that lead from the rig to the wellhead on the ocean floor. Doug Suttles, chief operating officer for exploration for BP, said a new lead was discovered according to The New York Times. A leading edge of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico stretching about 100 miles across had advanced to 16 miles offshore Wednesday, closing in on the Mississippi River Delta.
Gulf coast oil spill estimates
To estimate what is spilling out of the leaks in the riser, scientists are eyeballing video feeds from remote submersibles. “That takes a practiced eye,” said Doug Helton in an e-mail message to the New York Times Wednesday night. “Like being able to look at a garden hose and judge how many gallons a minute are being discharged. The surface approach is to measure the area of the slick, the percent cover, and then estimate the thickness based on some rough color codes.” Most of the slick, according to CNN, is a thin sheen on the water’s surface. About 3 percent of it is a heavy, pudding like crude oil.
Oil slick fire
To diminish damage to shoreline from the spill in the Gulf of Mexico, an oil slick fire is being tested. BP and Coast Guard crew late Wednesday afternoon started an oil slick fire test 30 miles east of the Mississippi delta of the Mississippi river, according to the Associated Press. A 500 foot fireproof boom was used on several thousands of gallons of the thickest oil on the surface. Ignited with hand held flares was the oil that was taken away from the main body of the spill. The Coast Guard expected the flames to vaporize between 50 percent to 90 percent of the oil in the boom. It was expected that there would be prevailing winds to blow the toxic black cloud of smoke out to sea.
Military assistance with oil slick cleanup
Since the slick in the Gulf of Mexico is continuing to spread, Thursday morning cleanup planners briefed chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff, Adm. Michael Mullen, according to CNN. The military is working on plans that could include putting a ship in the Gulf to support and resupply cleanup vessels or provide aircraft to help map the spill. This might be a long term operation considering the plan to establish a base on the coast for equipment and supplies for the cleanup of the oil.
This oil slick might spread for months
CNN reports that to stop the oil spill from spreading further, the NOAA said a rig will start drilling the first relief well a half mile from the disaster site on Friday. The well which should stop the gushing leak with concrete, won’t be done for several months. A shorter term solution that is expected to take two to four weeks is a dome lowered over the leak at the sea floor which routs leaking oil to a surface collection point. Whether the Dome technique is effective is uncertain. It hasn’t ever been tried so deep in the water.
The oil spill price tag for cleanup
The oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico is costing a heavy toll. Those who are officials in the oil industry suggest replacing the oil rig would cost up to e $ 700 million. BP said containing the oil spill will cost $ 6 million. The disaster is expected to rise in costs and to exceed $ 1 billion.
Resources for the article
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/29/us/29spill.html?pagewanted=2&ref=us
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