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| Science & Technology |
| BP: 'Majority' of leaking oil is being captured - Cap is producing around 10,000 barrels of oil |
| 2010-06-06 |
| 'Cap is producing around 10,000 barrels of oil a day to the surface' ON BARATARIA BAY, La. - A containment cap fitted onto a leaking well in the Gulf of Mexico is capturing 10,000 barrels of oil per day, BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward said Sunday. Hayward, the subject of speculation that he may be forced out of his position due to the political fallout from the environmental disaster, also told the BBC that he had strong support from BP's board. "The containment cap is producing around 10,000 barrels of oil a day to the surface which is being processed on the surface," he said. Asked what proportion that represented of the total oil leaking, Hayward said: "At the moment it's difficult to say but we would expect it to be the majority, probably the vast majority of the oil." Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said Saturday that after its first full day of work, the cap placed on the gusher near the sea floor trapped about 252,000 gallons of oil, which is somewhere between a quarter to half of the oil flowing from the well, according to government estimates. Next, BP engineers must attempt to close vents on the cap that were deliberately allowing streams of oil to escape the system so water cannot get inside. When water and gas combined in an earlier containment box, it formed a frozen slush that foiled the system. Allen, who said the goal is to gradually increase the amount of the oil being captured, compared the process to stopping the flow of water from a garden hose with a finger: "You don't want to put your finger down too quickly, or let it off too quickly." While BP plans to eventually use an additional set of hoses and pipes to increase the amount of oil being trapped, the ultimate solution remains a relief well that should be finished by August. 'Absolute commitment' Public and political pressure has been mounting on London-based BP to cap its gushing seabed oil well and take full financial responsibility for the clean-up and damage caused to Gulf coast fisheries, wildlife and tourism. "We are going to stop the leak, we are going to clean up the oil, we're going to remediate any environmental damage and we are going to return the Gulf coast to the position it was in prior to this event," Hayward said. "That is an absolute commitment. We will be there long after the media has gone making good on our promises." The oil has steadily spread east, washing up in greater quantities in recent days. Government officials estimate that roughly 22 million to 48 million gallons have leaked into the Gulf since the April 20 explosion that killed 11 workers. In Gulf Shores, Ala., boardwalks leading to hotels were tattooed with oil from beachgoers' feet. A slick hundreds of yards long washed ashore at a state park, coating the white sand with a thick, red stew. Cleanup workers rushed to contain it in bags, but more washed in before they could remove the first wave of debris. "This makes me sick," said Rebecca Thomasson of Knoxville, Tenn., her legs and feet smeared with brown streaks of crude. "We were over in Florida earlier and it was bad there, but it was nothing like this." Alabama Gov. Bob Riley and Allen met for more than an hour Saturday in Mobile, Ala., agreeing to a new plan that would significantly increase protection on the state's coast with larger booms, beachfront barriers, skimmers and a new system to protect Perdido Bay near the Florida line. At Pensacola Beach, Erin Tamber, who moved to the area from New Orleans after surviving Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, inspected a beach stained orange by the retreating tide. "I feel like I've gone from owning a piece of paradise to owning a toxic waste dump," she said. Back in Louisiana, along the beach at Queen Bess Island, oil pooled several feet deep, trapping birds against containment boom. The futility of their struggle was confirmed when Joe Sartore, a National Geographic photographer, sank thigh deep in oil on nearby East Grand Terre Island and had to be pulled from the tar. "I would have died if I would have been out here alone," he said |
| Posted by:Goodluck Smock1954 |
| #6 BP doesn't have the authority or ability to stop photographers in Louisiana, the officials of which are mad enough at them already. I suspect this is just the feds being passive-aggressive, "Look at what BP is making us do now." |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2010-06-06 20:30 |
| #5 Oh, you poor, naive child... |
| Posted by: Pappy 2010-06-06 20:24 |
| #4 BP may or may not know what it is doing, it certainly has not been able to cap it so far. But SteveS, I find your comment on the journalists pretty disturbing. The one thing I cherish over all others is freedom: freedom of speech, freedom of the press. IT's why Rantburg is such a great site because it provided a platform for information especially after the WTC attack when the MSM was shutting down any mention of the role of Islamism in the terror networks because of political correctness. It is very important for reporters, photographers and cameramen to have full access to public beaches etc - that is media freedom. To be able to fly over and document the disaster is important. Recently BP was trying to stop photographs of dead and dying wildlife - that is called SPIN and trying to control the news. In a democracy the people can only be FREE if they are INFORMED To limit and curb the ability of the media to report is to ensure the people remain uninformed and controlled. |
| Posted by: anon1 2010-06-06 20:08 |
| #3 who knows the truth? I suspect the 'truth' is that BP basically knows what they are doing, given that they are working in a new environment a mile deep in the ocean. They have much more experience dealing with well blowouts than anyone in the current administration. As for the journalists and photographers who are prevented from getting in the way, let them stay home and make stuff up & practice photoshopping. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2010-06-06 19:23 |
| #2 who knows the truth? BP have been preventing journalists and photographers from having full access even to the shoreline much less the spill zone. What happened to Kevin Costner's floating centrifuge? That got a lot of press but then... silence. Does it work or not? |
| Posted by: anon1 2010-06-06 15:44 |
| #1 They seem to be capturing a signficant amount but I don't know if it's a majority. Certainly not a 'vast' majority. Still, it's barrels that won't be able to wash into the marshes and onto the beaches. It is a fragile system - let's hope hurricanes find somewhere else to go for now. It is also a very hazardous system for the crews working at the surface. They are surrounded by oil floating on the sea, with gas bubbling out of it, from the previous and continuing leak, while they have a 20 MMCFG/D Bic lighter flaring the gas they are recovering with the oil. At least it's not sour oil & gas. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2010-06-06 13:16 |