The Gulf of Mexico oil spill is still getting bigger and officials within the government say the ruptured well might be spewing five times more crude that was estimated at first. The coast guard had a news conference late Wednesday night as strategies to stop the leak failed. Rear Adm. Mary E. Landry told reporters the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had revised its previous estimate of the leak from 1,000 barrels a day to 5,000. There is experimenting with burning the oil slick going on with cleanup crews working on the oil spill. Weather reports indicate the oil spill could reach the gulf coast of Louisiana by Friday night. Landry said the US military could be called for assistance as the crisis escalates, which would cost a lot of money today.
Gulf coast oil spill accelerating
The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has been spreading given that 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. It was originally thought the oil was issuing from two leaks in the riser, a 5,000-foot-long pipe leading 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. 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
Scientists are eyeballing video feeds from remote submersibles to estimate output of the leaks in the riser. “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.” The majority of the slick is a thin sheen on the water’s surface, according to CNN. About 3 percent of it is a heavy, pudding like crude oil.
Fire oil slick
An oil slick fire is being tested to diminish damage to the shoreline from the oil spill within the Gulf of Mexico. BP and Coast Guard crew late Wednesday afternoon began an oil slick fire test 30 miles east of the Mississippi delta of the Mississippi river, as outlined by the Associated Press. . Ignited with hand held flares was the oil that was taken from the main body of the spill. 50 to 90 percent of oil in the boom was expected to evaporate by the Coast Guard. The toxic black cloud of smoke and soot was expected to be blown out to sea by prevailing winds.
Military assistance with oil slick cleanup
CNN reports that as the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico continues to spread, cleanup planners briefed Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Thursday morning. Plans are being worked on by military to provide aircraft tot better map the spill and putting a ship in the Gulf to support and resupply cleanup vessels. This might be a long term operation considering the plan to set up a base on the coast for equipment and supplies for the cleanup of the oil.
Gulf coast oil slick may spread for months
To eventually halt the oil slick within the gulf from spreading, CNN reports the NOAA said a rig will start drilling the first relief well about a half mile from the disaster site on Friday. But the well, intended to stop up the gushing leak with concrete, mud or other heavy liquid, will take several months to complete. 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 been tried so deep within the water before.
The oil spill price tag for cleanup
The oil spill within the Gulf of Mexico is costing a bundle. Officials in the oil industry say replacing the rig that exploded would cost up to $ 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
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/29/us/29spill.html?pagewanted=2&ref=us
