Five times as much oil as previously thought could be leaking from the well beneath where a rig exploded and sank last week, US officials said earlier.
The slick is 45 miles (72km) by 105 miles (169km) - almost the size of Jamaica - and heading for the US coast.
A third leak has been discovered, and a fire-fighting expert said the disaster may become the biggest oil spill ever.
"Probably the only thing comparable to this is the Kuwait fires [following the Gulf War in 1991]," Mike Miller, head of Canadian oil well fire-fighting company Safety Boss, told the BBC World Service.
"The Exxon Valdez [tanker disaster off Alaska in 1989] is going to pale [into insignificance] in comparison to this as it goes on."
Scientists say only a quarter of local marine wildlife survived the Exxon Valdez disaster.
Some 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons) a day were now thought to be gushing into the sea 50 miles off Louisiana's coast, said the US Coastguard's Rear Admiral Mary Landry.
If those estimates are correct, the spill could match the 11m gallons spilt from the Exxon Valdez within two months.
Controlled burn
The scale of the operation to contain the oil spill and protect both the US coastline and wildlife is unprecendented, with the military and other government agencies collaborating with BP - which had hired the sunken rig - and industry leaders.
Welcoming the US military's offer of help, BP's Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles said the company would take help from anyone to combat the spill, but gave no specifics of what form that help might take.
Efforts to stem the flow are being complicated by the depth of the leak at the underwater well, which is about 5,000ft (1,525m) beneath the surface.
Weather forecasters have meanwhile warned that changing winds could drive the oil slick ashore by Friday night. Its leading edge is now only 20 miles (32km) east of the mouth of the Mississippi.
A coast guard crew has set fire to part of the oil slick in an attempt to save environmentally-fragile wetlands.
The "controlled burn" of surface oil took place in an area about 30 miles (50km) east of the Mississippi river delta.
But Mr Miller warned that burning off leaking oil was not a long-term solution.
"The object of this game is to shut off the flow," he said.
Relief well
Engineers are working on a dome-like device to cover oil rising to the surface and pump it to container vessels, but it may be weeks before this is in place.
It is feared that work on sealing the leaking well using robotic submersibles might take months.
BP is also working on a "relief well" to intersect the original well, but this is experimental and could take two to three months to stop the flow.
President Barack Obama had been briefed on the new developments, and BP has welcomed the offer of assistance from the defence department to help contain the spill.
Seventy vessels - oil skimmers, tugboats barges and special recovery boats that separate oil from water - as well as five aeroplanes were working to spray dispersants and round up oil, BP said.
Burn zone
Eleven workers are missing and presumed dead after the worst oil rig disaster in almost a decade.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said the top priority was "to protect our citizens and the environment".
With the spill moving towards Louisiana's coast, which contains some 40% of the nation's wetlands and spawning grounds for countless fish and birds, it was hoped a "controlled burn" of oil contained by special booms would limit the impact.
Environmental experts say animals nearby might be affected by toxic fumes, but perhaps not as much as if they were coated in oil.
On Wednesday afternoon, BP and coastguard boats swept the thickest concentrations of oil into a fire-resistant boom.
This was then towed to a five-mile "burn zone" set up inside the slick, where it was set alight shortly before nightfall.
BBC
Another source of information about the incident is the Gulf of Mexico - Transocean Drilling Incident page of the United States Coast Guard D8 External Affairs Media Port. Attached is an overlay created from their overflight map of 10:00 am on April 29, 2010. From the Gulf of Mexico - Transocean Drilling Incident page ...
Concern is mounting regarding the potential of the spill to affect the coastline of Louisiana. Quoting NPR: Officials Dispatched To Gulf As Oil Spill Worries Grow ...
Quote:
This site is providing information regarding the April 20 incident in the US Gulf of Mexico involving a Transocean drilling Rig Deep Water Horizon. The Horizon was engaged in drilling activity on behalf of BP at Mississippi Canyon Block 252, about 52 miles southeast of Venice, La.
BP is assisting in the response and has staffed up its Houston crisis center to provide support for the response.
Please register on the site using the Questions/Comments tab above to receive future updates on response activities. You may also submit questions using this same tab. We will endeavor to respond in a timely fashion to questions submitted here.
To report oiled wildlife, please call 1-866-557-1401 and leave a message. Messages will be checked hourly.
To discuss spill related damage, please call 1-800-440-0858.
To report oiled shoreline or request volunteer information, please call 1-866-448-5816.
BP is assisting in the response and has staffed up its Houston crisis center to provide support for the response.
Please register on the site using the Questions/Comments tab above to receive future updates on response activities. You may also submit questions using this same tab. We will endeavor to respond in a timely fashion to questions submitted here.
To report oiled wildlife, please call 1-866-557-1401 and leave a message. Messages will be checked hourly.
To discuss spill related damage, please call 1-800-440-0858.
To report oiled shoreline or request volunteer information, please call 1-866-448-5816.
Concern is mounting regarding the potential of the spill to affect the coastline of Louisiana. Quoting NPR: Officials Dispatched To Gulf As Oil Spill Worries Grow ...
Quote:
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency Thursday and President Obama pledged his administration will use "every single resource at our disposal" as an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico crept toward shore.
Jindal made the declaration shortly after Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano called the disaster a "spill of national significance." The federal government has sent skimmers, booms and other resources to try and contain the spill. Obama said the response could include the Defense Department.
Jindal made the declaration shortly after Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano called the disaster a "spill of national significance." The federal government has sent skimmers, booms and other resources to try and contain the spill. Obama said the response could include the Defense Department.
Quote:
The spill could affect a wide variety of wildlife, including the oysters, shrimp and other creatures that commercial fishermen depend on to make a living.
Quote:
Crews turned to a plan to burn some of the oilafter failing to stop the leak at the spot where the platform exploded and sank . A 500-foot boom was to be used to corral several thousand gallons of the thickest oil on the surface, which would then be towed to a more remote area, set on fire and allowed to burn for about an hour.
NPR's Wade Goodwyn, reporting from the Unified Command Center in the Louisiana town of Robert, said this isn't tried-and-true territory.
"Nobody is sure how well this is going to work in the open Gulf," Goodwyn said. "It's not going to be a large percentage of the spill, because burning only works where the spill is thick, emulsified, and that's only about 3 percent of the entire oil sick."
He cautioned that even if the experiment works, it's not going to be a big fix. Goodwyn said the burning does not compare with planes dropping dispersants, which are having the most impact in controlling the spill.
NPR's Wade Goodwyn, reporting from the Unified Command Center in the Louisiana town of Robert, said this isn't tried-and-true territory.
"Nobody is sure how well this is going to work in the open Gulf," Goodwyn said. "It's not going to be a large percentage of the spill, because burning only works where the spill is thick, emulsified, and that's only about 3 percent of the entire oil sick."
He cautioned that even if the experiment works, it's not going to be a big fix. Goodwyn said the burning does not compare with planes dropping dispersants, which are having the most impact in controlling the spill.
Quote:
Goodwyn said the oil is likely to come ashore around the Mississippi River Delta. He said the government BP both have about 100,000 feet of surface booms to put there; another 500,000 feet of booms are available.
"There's no stopping this from coming ashore everywhere, and if it's going to be weeks of oil spilling out of this well before they can get it stopped, this could turn into quite an impressive mess," Goodwyn said.
"There's no stopping this from coming ashore everywhere, and if it's going to be weeks of oil spilling out of this well before they can get it stopped, this could turn into quite an impressive mess," Goodwyn said.
Attachments
USCG_April_29_2010.kmz (274 downloads)
The oil slick from the Deepwater Horizon Incident is arriving at the Louisiana coastline today.
Image from US Coast Guard: Gulf of Mexico - Transocean Drilling Incident. Click image for its Flickr photo page.
According to NPR: Coast Guard Defends Response As Oil Nears Shore:
The attachment contains an overlay of the NOAA Oil Trajectory Map for April 30, 2010. This was downloaded in pdf format from the NOAA Office of Response and Restoration web site and converted to jpg format.
From the NOAA Deepwater Horizon Incident, Gulf of Mexico web page:
The map is accompanied by the following caption:
Image from US Coast Guard: Gulf of Mexico - Transocean Drilling Incident. Click image for its Flickr photo page.
According to NPR: Coast Guard Defends Response As Oil Nears Shore:
Quote:
The Coast Guard on Friday defended the federal response to a massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico as the first waves of crude neared Louisiana's ecologically rich wetlands and threatened to eclipse even the Exxon Valdez disaster.
Coast Guard Rear Adm. Sally Brice-O'Hara, appearing on multiple TV news shows, said the federal response led by the Coast Guard has been rapid, sustained and has adapted as the threat grew since a drill rig exploded and sank last week, causing the seafloor spill. The Coast Guard, she said, has been closely monitoring efforts directed by oil company BP PLC to contain and stop the spill and has filled in gaps where needed.
Coast Guard Rear Adm. Sally Brice-O'Hara, appearing on multiple TV news shows, said the federal response led by the Coast Guard has been rapid, sustained and has adapted as the threat grew since a drill rig exploded and sank last week, causing the seafloor spill. The Coast Guard, she said, has been closely monitoring efforts directed by oil company BP PLC to contain and stop the spill and has filled in gaps where needed.
Quote:
The spill is up to five times larger than first estimated, officials said, and was drifting inexorably toward the Gulf Coast on Friday.
"It is of grave concern," David Kennedy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told The Associated Press.
"I am frightened. This is a very, very big thing. And the efforts that are going to be required to do anything about it, especially if it continues on, are just mind-boggling."
The oil slick could become the nation's worst environmental disaster in decades, threatening hundreds of species of fish, birds and other wildlife along the Gulf Coast, one of the world's richest seafood grounds, teeming with shrimp, oysters and other marine life.
"It is of grave concern," David Kennedy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told The Associated Press.
"I am frightened. This is a very, very big thing. And the efforts that are going to be required to do anything about it, especially if it continues on, are just mind-boggling."
The oil slick could become the nation's worst environmental disaster in decades, threatening hundreds of species of fish, birds and other wildlife along the Gulf Coast, one of the world's richest seafood grounds, teeming with shrimp, oysters and other marine life.
Quote:
he Coast Guard worked with BP, which operated the oil rig that exploded and sank last week, to deploy floating booms, skimmers and chemical dispersants, and set controlled fires to burn the oil off the water's surface. Obama said the response could include the Defense Department.
Quote:
British oil giant BP confirmed Thursday that up to 5,000 barrels, or 200,000 gallons, of oil a day are spilling from the site of the deadly oil rig explosion.
At that rate, the spill could easily eclipse the worst oil spill in U.S. history — the 11 million gallons that leaked from the grounded tanker Exxon Valdez in Alaska's Prince William Sound in 1989 — in the three months it could take to drill a relief well and plug the gushing well 5,000 feet underwater on the sea floor. Ultimately, the spill could grow much larger than the Valdez because Gulf of Mexico wells typically hold many times more oil than a single tanker.
Jackie Savitz, a toxicology scientist with the environmental group Oceani, says that at the current flow rate, the spill will reach the 11 million gallon mark of the Exxon Valdez spill in 50 days. The Gulf holds several endangered and threatened species including four species of endangered sea turtle, in addition to dolphins, porpoises, whales and other threatened species.
"This is one of only two spawning areas for bluefin tuna in the world," Savitz said. "If larvae are exposed there's a good chance they wont survive or their survival will be reduced because of the oil spill."
At that rate, the spill could easily eclipse the worst oil spill in U.S. history — the 11 million gallons that leaked from the grounded tanker Exxon Valdez in Alaska's Prince William Sound in 1989 — in the three months it could take to drill a relief well and plug the gushing well 5,000 feet underwater on the sea floor. Ultimately, the spill could grow much larger than the Valdez because Gulf of Mexico wells typically hold many times more oil than a single tanker.
Jackie Savitz, a toxicology scientist with the environmental group Oceani, says that at the current flow rate, the spill will reach the 11 million gallon mark of the Exxon Valdez spill in 50 days. The Gulf holds several endangered and threatened species including four species of endangered sea turtle, in addition to dolphins, porpoises, whales and other threatened species.
"This is one of only two spawning areas for bluefin tuna in the world," Savitz said. "If larvae are exposed there's a good chance they wont survive or their survival will be reduced because of the oil spill."
The attachment contains an overlay of the NOAA Oil Trajectory Map for April 30, 2010. This was downloaded in pdf format from the NOAA Office of Response and Restoration web site and converted to jpg format.
From the NOAA Deepwater Horizon Incident, Gulf of Mexico web page:
Quote:
Today the Deepwater Horizon incident declared a Spill of National Significance (SONS). A SONS is defined as, "a spill that, due to its severity, size, location, actual or potential impact on the public health and welfare or the environment, or the necessary response effort, is so complex that it requires extraordinary coordination of federal, state, local, and responsible party resources to contain and clean up the discharge" and allows greater federal involvement. Estimates of the release rate increased to 5000 barrels (210,000 gallons) per day based on surface observations and reports of a newly discovered leak in the damaged piping on the sea floor.
The map is accompanied by the following caption:
Quote:
Approximate oil locations from April 25, 2010 to April 30, 2010 including forecast for April 30, based on trajectories and overflight information.
Attachments
Deepwater_Horizon_Incident_2010_04_30.kmz (147 downloads)
Attached is an overlay of a NASA satellite image of the oil slick on April 29, 2010. The image was downloaded from NPR: Coast Guard Defends Reaction As Oil Nears Land. The caption that accompanies the image reads:
Quote:
This satellite image taken Thursday shows the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico as it nears the shoreline, threatening wildlife along Louisiana's fragile islands and barrier marshes.
Attachments
NASA_Oil_Slick_2010_04_29.kmz (139 downloads)
The New York Times states, on Friday, April 30, 2010, that reports are being investigated that oil from the spill washed ashore overnight.
From New York Times: Oil From Spill Is Reported to Have Reached the Coast. From the article:
By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON
Published: April 30, 2010
This would, of course, have adverse environmental consequences in tidal wetlands.
The attachment contains an overlay of a map from the New York Times article that indicates locations where the oil may impact wildlife. This includes coastal birds such as the brown pelican, reddish egret, mottled duck, royal tern, and snowy plover, and other animals at sea such as the sperm whale, bluefin tuna, and various sea turtles.
From New York Times: Oil From Spill Is Reported to Have Reached the Coast. From the article:
Quote:
By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON
Published: April 30, 2010
Quote:
NEW ORLEANS — Coast Guard officials were investigating reports early Friday morning that oil from a massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico had washed ashore overnight, threatening fisheries and wildlife in fragile marshes and islands along the Gulf Coast.
Quote:
The Navy provided 50 contractors, 7 skimming systems and 66,000 feet of inflatable containment boom, a spokesman said. About 210,000 feet of boom had been laid down to protect the shoreline in several places along the Gulf Coast, though experts said that marshlands presented a far more daunting cleaning challenge than sandy beaches.
This would, of course, have adverse environmental consequences in tidal wetlands.
The attachment contains an overlay of a map from the New York Times article that indicates locations where the oil may impact wildlife. This includes coastal birds such as the brown pelican, reddish egret, mottled duck, royal tern, and snowy plover, and other animals at sea such as the sperm whale, bluefin tuna, and various sea turtles.
Attachments
NY_Times_Deepwater_Horizon_Incident_Map_2010_04_30.kmz (110 downloads)
Five Deepwater Horizon oil spill response staging areas have been selected by BP and government officials.
VENICE, La. - Containment boom is staged at the Breton National Wildlife Refuge, Thursday, April 29, 2010. As of Friday, April 30, 2010, over 217,000 feet of containment boom is used to help minimize the impact on environmentally sensitive areas. Photo and caption from United States Coast Guard District 8. Click photo for its Flickr photo page.
Some quotes from NPR: Towns Scramble To Protect Gulf Coast From Oil Spill follow ...
The attached KMZ file marks the five towns where the oil spill response staging areas are located.
See: US Fish & Wildlife Service: Breton National Wildlife Refuge
VENICE, La. - Containment boom is staged at the Breton National Wildlife Refuge, Thursday, April 29, 2010. As of Friday, April 30, 2010, over 217,000 feet of containment boom is used to help minimize the impact on environmentally sensitive areas. Photo and caption from United States Coast Guard District 8. Click photo for its Flickr photo page.
Some quotes from NPR: Towns Scramble To Protect Gulf Coast From Oil Spill follow ...
Quote:
Fishermen and oystermen in south Louisiana were preparing to thread miles of oil-absorbing boom through fragile marsh and wetlands Friday, as coastal communities in four states scrambled to protect shorebirds, marine life and sugar-white beaches from the massive oil spill headed for the Gulf Coast.
Rich with brown shrimp, oyster, crabs and fish, the Louisiana coast is one of the most fertile seafood grounds in the country. And even nonfishermen have a lot at stake. The state's $2.85 billion seafood industry puts one-third of the commercially harvested seafood in the U.S. on tables in the lower 48 states.
"We're going to use the people who know the water the best to help protect Plaquemines Parish," said Kurt Fromherz, a parish spokesman.
Preparing for the oil slick is very different from battening down the hatches when a hurricane is headed ashore, Fromherz said. Booms, the oil-absorbing barriers that are used to contain oil on the water’s surface, aren’t available at the local hardware store, he noted.
Rich with brown shrimp, oyster, crabs and fish, the Louisiana coast is one of the most fertile seafood grounds in the country. And even nonfishermen have a lot at stake. The state's $2.85 billion seafood industry puts one-third of the commercially harvested seafood in the U.S. on tables in the lower 48 states.
"We're going to use the people who know the water the best to help protect Plaquemines Parish," said Kurt Fromherz, a parish spokesman.
Preparing for the oil slick is very different from battening down the hatches when a hurricane is headed ashore, Fromherz said. Booms, the oil-absorbing barriers that are used to contain oil on the water’s surface, aren’t available at the local hardware store, he noted.
Quote:
BP spokesman John Curry said the industry-and-government team that's working on the spill is staging response efforts from five areas — Venice, La.; Biloxi and Pascagoula, Miss.; Theodore, Ala.; and Pensacola, Fla. Those areas were chosen with input from state and local officials, Curry said.
"From there, we will take the booms out to areas that have been identified as sensitive environmental areas, and we utilize the booms there first," Curry said.
In Florida, the Audubon Society was recruiting volunteers to help clean and rehabilitate birds whose feathers become laden with oil when they swoop onto the water looking for a meal. The group has opened its Center for Birds of Prey in Maitland as a rescue site.
"The terrible loss of 11 workers may be just the beginning of this tragedy as the oil slick spreads toward sensitive coastal areas vital to birds and marine life and to all the communities that depend on them," said Melanie Driscoll, a Louisiana-based Audubon bird conservation director.
"From there, we will take the booms out to areas that have been identified as sensitive environmental areas, and we utilize the booms there first," Curry said.
In Florida, the Audubon Society was recruiting volunteers to help clean and rehabilitate birds whose feathers become laden with oil when they swoop onto the water looking for a meal. The group has opened its Center for Birds of Prey in Maitland as a rescue site.
"The terrible loss of 11 workers may be just the beginning of this tragedy as the oil slick spreads toward sensitive coastal areas vital to birds and marine life and to all the communities that depend on them," said Melanie Driscoll, a Louisiana-based Audubon bird conservation director.
Quote:
he U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said 20 national wildlife refuges are within the current trajectory of the spill. Teams are conducting aerial surveillance to look for oiled wildlife. A toll-free number — 866-557-1401 — has been set up to report injured or oiled animals.
Quote:
South Alabama marine sciences professor Sean Powers said the negative environmental and economic impact of the spill could exceed that of the Exxon Valdez and Hurricane Katrina.
"The Exxon Valdez was one accident. Here, we're talking about oil conceivably being washed up for three months" until the well is capped. "Snapper spawn in the Gulf of Mexico at this time of year. What's happening now could have an impact on the harvest levels for the next three or four years," Powers said.
He predicted that the general public would begin to see the effects in their seafood markets within two weeks, with the impact on the shrimp and oyster supply being the worst.
"The Exxon Valdez was one accident. Here, we're talking about oil conceivably being washed up for three months" until the well is capped. "Snapper spawn in the Gulf of Mexico at this time of year. What's happening now could have an impact on the harvest levels for the next three or four years," Powers said.
He predicted that the general public would begin to see the effects in their seafood markets within two weeks, with the impact on the shrimp and oyster supply being the worst.
The attached KMZ file marks the five towns where the oil spill response staging areas are located.
See: US Fish & Wildlife Service: Breton National Wildlife Refuge
Attachments
DeepwaterHorizonOilSpillResponseStagingAreas.kmz (75 downloads)
Quote:
Louisiana oil spill may be five times bigger than previously thought
Oil from the wrecked Deepwater Horizon rig is feared to be gushing into the Gulf of Mexico at five times the latest estimate of the US Coastguard, according to satellite imagery studied by industry experts.
Oil booms are seen washed ashore on the coast of South Pass, south of Venice, Louisiana. Photo: REUTERS
The view from space indicates that the oil may be leaking at a rate of 25,000 barrels a day, dwarfing the figure of 5,000 barrels that US officials and the British oil giant BP have used in recent days.
That would mean that some nine million gallons may already have escaped from the underwater well following the April 20 explosion that killed 11 rig workers. It suggests the disaster will almost certainly prove greater than the Exxon Valdez tanker spill off Alaska in 1989, which released 11 million gallons and was the worst previous spill at sea.
President Barack Obama will visit the region on Sunday morning, aides have announced. The trip comes amid mounting criticism that the White House has been slow to react to the crisis.
His predecessor, George W Bush, faced similar anger over the federal government's handling of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. But the government has emphasised that responsibility for the clean-up rests with BP, which leased the rig and initially played down the scale of the leak.
As the administration steps up its operations, the Pentagon will spray the slick with chemical dispersants from military C-130 planes, although environmental groups warned that these could also seriously damage the eco-system.
Menwhile Eric Holder, the country's attorney general, is dispatching a team of lawyers to New Orleans to assess whether any laws have been broken. BP, which leased the rig and owned the oil rights, had downplayed the possible danger of any spill - predicting "no significant adverse impact" - when it submitted its exploration plan last year.
The scale of the looming catastrophe was still unclear yesterday as strong winds hampered an emergency operation to mop up the 2,200 sq mile slick being blown towards the coast of five US states.
Even BP has acknowledged that the 5,000-barrels-a-day figure for the leak - already a five-fold increase on the 1,000 barrels that it initially gave - is only a "guesstimate". The Coastguard has also said that that leak rate could turn out to be much greater than 5,000 barrels.
The implications of the higher figures for the fishing waters, wildlife and beaches of the Gulf - and the residents whose livelihoods depend upon them - are potentially devastating.
John Amos, director of SkyTruth, a satellite data monitoring outfit that supplies analysis to environmental groups, told The Sunday Telegraph that the images and information made public by BP indicated that the slick was made up of at least six million gallons of oil.
"That is a conservative estimate and it would mean that oil is leaking at a rate of 20,000 barrels a day," he said. "That's a real eye-opener. And I believe the true figure is significantly higher."
Ian MacDonald, a Florida professor of oceanography who tracks maritime oil seepage, estimated that more than nine million gallons may already have escaped into the sea on the basis of higher industry estimates of the rate of leakage. BP engineers have been desperately and unsuccessfully trying to use unmanned submarines to initiate a failed switch-off device on the well about a mile beneath the surface of the water.
In the absence of such a quick-fix solution, the company is pursuing two other remedies to stop the leak, but both will take weeks or months.
In the medium-term, the company is hoping to cover the leaks with 100-ton steel domes that would capture the escaping oil and funnel it back to a ship at the surface through pipes. The technology has been deployed for leaks at much shallower depths but has never been used for a deep-sea spill.
It has also dispatched a drill ship to the area to begin digging a relief well that would intercept the oil from the existing pipes at about 18,000 feet below the surface. This will allow the company to close off the leaking well, but the process will take at least three months and possibly much longer.
At the same time, investigations have been launched into the two crucial failures - why the rig exploded and then why the automatic switch-off device did not then activate. Oil industry analysts believe the explosion was caused by a "blow-back" when a pressure surge thrust natural gas up to the rig platform. One area under focus is a recently-completed cementing operation by the company Haliburton, which was intended to prevent oil and gas from escaping by filling gaps between the outside of pipes and the inside of the hole drilled into the ocean floor into which they fitted.
According to a 2007 US government report, cementing was a factor in 18 of 39 well blow-outs in the Gulf of Mexico over a 14-year period. And investigators have also been told that cementing was a likely cause of a major 10-week blow-out in the Timor Sea off Australia last year.
Haliburton has declined to comment while the cause of the accident is being investigated and lawsuits are pending.
The second disastrous failure occurred when the rig's "blowout preventer" - equipment that should have automatically blocked the well when the explosion occurred - failed to work. It has since emerged that the device did not have a remote-control shut-off mechanism - these are commonly required in most offshore oil producing nations, but not the US.
Fifty miles away, on the Louisiana coastline, communities that rely on the sea for their existence are now braced for the worst. Oyster beds could take 20 years to recover and world shrimp supplies will plummet as the Gulf waters are the largest source of the seafood.
There is widespread anger, not just at BP but also the federal government for what is perceived as a hopelessly tardy response. Locals have expressed disbelief that the deployment of booms - special floating barriers - to protect the coast only began nine days after the explosion.
In its initial statements, BP indicated that could handle the leak, but in recent days has appealed for urgent help from the government and other oil industry companies.
Mr Obama dispatched Cabinet ministers and top officials to the disaster zone on Friday. But there was resentment locally that he had not visited the region and he was last night [SAT] scheduled to deliver a humourous speech at the black-tie celebrity-studded White House Correspondents' Dinner in a Washington ballroom.
The announcement yesterday morning that he would make a trip to Louisiana today came as conservative critics called the oil spill "Obama's Katrina".
In New Orleans, Jeff Crouere, host of the "Ringside Politics" radio show, said that Mr Obama's approach to the crisis was being compared - unfavourably - to President Bush's handling of the fall-out from the hurricane.
"Five years on from Katrina, we feel another president has been ignoring us," he told The Sunday Telegraph.
"Another disaster in the Gulf of Mexico is heading for the shorelines of Louisiana. Once again, the federal government has bungled the response. In contrast to President Bush, who waited four days after Katrina to send federal help to New Orleans, President Obama has waited nine days to act after the horrific oil disaster in the Gulf.
"It should have been a top priority for the Obama administration in the minutes after the disaster, not waiting over almost ten full days to take serious action.
We are finally seeing the federal cavalry descending on the impact zone with booms, boats and personnel, but it is way too late. It would have been much easier to accomplish containment goals one week ago."
Another political embarrassment for Mr Obama is that he had only recently announced White House approval for a controversial expansion of offshore oil exploration.
The policy has been enthusiastically pushed by Republicans such as former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin - who litters speeches with the phrase "drill, baby drill" - and has also been backed by a majority of Americans since fuel prices soared.
But environmental groups and many members of the president's Democratic party are fiercely opposed to new drilling off America's coastline. And the White House said last week that no new licences would be granted while the cause of the current disaster is investigated.
Several lawsuits have been filed against BP, Transocean, the owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig, and other oil industry companies involved in the operation, on behalf of residents and businesses as well as survivors and relatives of those killed in the April 20 explosion.
But such legal matters were far from the minds of the hundreds of mourners who attended Friday’s memorial service for Wyatt Kempt in the small rural Louisiana town of Jonesville Mr Kemp, 27, who was married to his teenage sweetheart and had two young daughters, worked on Deepwater Horizon for three years, following his own father into the dangerous world of the offshore oil fields.
“Wyatt liked the work and the money was good,” said his grandmother, Carolyn Kemp. “There aren’t many options for paying the bills round here.” Indeed, Mr Kemp’s brother Sandon will return to another rig after coming home to attend the service.
No bodies have been recovered from the waters. But a survivor told Mrs Kemp that there was no chance that her grandson escaped the series of blasts that ripped through the pumphouse where he was last seen.
When the rig exploded, he was just 75 minutes away from the end of his three-week stint at sea. Only the helicopter ride back to land should have awaited him. Telegraph
Oil from the wrecked Deepwater Horizon rig is feared to be gushing into the Gulf of Mexico at five times the latest estimate of the US Coastguard, according to satellite imagery studied by industry experts.
Oil booms are seen washed ashore on the coast of South Pass, south of Venice, Louisiana. Photo: REUTERS
The view from space indicates that the oil may be leaking at a rate of 25,000 barrels a day, dwarfing the figure of 5,000 barrels that US officials and the British oil giant BP have used in recent days.
That would mean that some nine million gallons may already have escaped from the underwater well following the April 20 explosion that killed 11 rig workers. It suggests the disaster will almost certainly prove greater than the Exxon Valdez tanker spill off Alaska in 1989, which released 11 million gallons and was the worst previous spill at sea.
President Barack Obama will visit the region on Sunday morning, aides have announced. The trip comes amid mounting criticism that the White House has been slow to react to the crisis.
His predecessor, George W Bush, faced similar anger over the federal government's handling of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. But the government has emphasised that responsibility for the clean-up rests with BP, which leased the rig and initially played down the scale of the leak.
As the administration steps up its operations, the Pentagon will spray the slick with chemical dispersants from military C-130 planes, although environmental groups warned that these could also seriously damage the eco-system.
Menwhile Eric Holder, the country's attorney general, is dispatching a team of lawyers to New Orleans to assess whether any laws have been broken. BP, which leased the rig and owned the oil rights, had downplayed the possible danger of any spill - predicting "no significant adverse impact" - when it submitted its exploration plan last year.
The scale of the looming catastrophe was still unclear yesterday as strong winds hampered an emergency operation to mop up the 2,200 sq mile slick being blown towards the coast of five US states.
Even BP has acknowledged that the 5,000-barrels-a-day figure for the leak - already a five-fold increase on the 1,000 barrels that it initially gave - is only a "guesstimate". The Coastguard has also said that that leak rate could turn out to be much greater than 5,000 barrels.
The implications of the higher figures for the fishing waters, wildlife and beaches of the Gulf - and the residents whose livelihoods depend upon them - are potentially devastating.
John Amos, director of SkyTruth, a satellite data monitoring outfit that supplies analysis to environmental groups, told The Sunday Telegraph that the images and information made public by BP indicated that the slick was made up of at least six million gallons of oil.
"That is a conservative estimate and it would mean that oil is leaking at a rate of 20,000 barrels a day," he said. "That's a real eye-opener. And I believe the true figure is significantly higher."
Ian MacDonald, a Florida professor of oceanography who tracks maritime oil seepage, estimated that more than nine million gallons may already have escaped into the sea on the basis of higher industry estimates of the rate of leakage. BP engineers have been desperately and unsuccessfully trying to use unmanned submarines to initiate a failed switch-off device on the well about a mile beneath the surface of the water.
In the absence of such a quick-fix solution, the company is pursuing two other remedies to stop the leak, but both will take weeks or months.
In the medium-term, the company is hoping to cover the leaks with 100-ton steel domes that would capture the escaping oil and funnel it back to a ship at the surface through pipes. The technology has been deployed for leaks at much shallower depths but has never been used for a deep-sea spill.
It has also dispatched a drill ship to the area to begin digging a relief well that would intercept the oil from the existing pipes at about 18,000 feet below the surface. This will allow the company to close off the leaking well, but the process will take at least three months and possibly much longer.
At the same time, investigations have been launched into the two crucial failures - why the rig exploded and then why the automatic switch-off device did not then activate. Oil industry analysts believe the explosion was caused by a "blow-back" when a pressure surge thrust natural gas up to the rig platform. One area under focus is a recently-completed cementing operation by the company Haliburton, which was intended to prevent oil and gas from escaping by filling gaps between the outside of pipes and the inside of the hole drilled into the ocean floor into which they fitted.
According to a 2007 US government report, cementing was a factor in 18 of 39 well blow-outs in the Gulf of Mexico over a 14-year period. And investigators have also been told that cementing was a likely cause of a major 10-week blow-out in the Timor Sea off Australia last year.
Haliburton has declined to comment while the cause of the accident is being investigated and lawsuits are pending.
The second disastrous failure occurred when the rig's "blowout preventer" - equipment that should have automatically blocked the well when the explosion occurred - failed to work. It has since emerged that the device did not have a remote-control shut-off mechanism - these are commonly required in most offshore oil producing nations, but not the US.
Fifty miles away, on the Louisiana coastline, communities that rely on the sea for their existence are now braced for the worst. Oyster beds could take 20 years to recover and world shrimp supplies will plummet as the Gulf waters are the largest source of the seafood.
There is widespread anger, not just at BP but also the federal government for what is perceived as a hopelessly tardy response. Locals have expressed disbelief that the deployment of booms - special floating barriers - to protect the coast only began nine days after the explosion.
In its initial statements, BP indicated that could handle the leak, but in recent days has appealed for urgent help from the government and other oil industry companies.
Mr Obama dispatched Cabinet ministers and top officials to the disaster zone on Friday. But there was resentment locally that he had not visited the region and he was last night [SAT] scheduled to deliver a humourous speech at the black-tie celebrity-studded White House Correspondents' Dinner in a Washington ballroom.
The announcement yesterday morning that he would make a trip to Louisiana today came as conservative critics called the oil spill "Obama's Katrina".
In New Orleans, Jeff Crouere, host of the "Ringside Politics" radio show, said that Mr Obama's approach to the crisis was being compared - unfavourably - to President Bush's handling of the fall-out from the hurricane.
"Five years on from Katrina, we feel another president has been ignoring us," he told The Sunday Telegraph.
"Another disaster in the Gulf of Mexico is heading for the shorelines of Louisiana. Once again, the federal government has bungled the response. In contrast to President Bush, who waited four days after Katrina to send federal help to New Orleans, President Obama has waited nine days to act after the horrific oil disaster in the Gulf.
"It should have been a top priority for the Obama administration in the minutes after the disaster, not waiting over almost ten full days to take serious action.
We are finally seeing the federal cavalry descending on the impact zone with booms, boats and personnel, but it is way too late. It would have been much easier to accomplish containment goals one week ago."
Another political embarrassment for Mr Obama is that he had only recently announced White House approval for a controversial expansion of offshore oil exploration.
The policy has been enthusiastically pushed by Republicans such as former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin - who litters speeches with the phrase "drill, baby drill" - and has also been backed by a majority of Americans since fuel prices soared.
But environmental groups and many members of the president's Democratic party are fiercely opposed to new drilling off America's coastline. And the White House said last week that no new licences would be granted while the cause of the current disaster is investigated.
Several lawsuits have been filed against BP, Transocean, the owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig, and other oil industry companies involved in the operation, on behalf of residents and businesses as well as survivors and relatives of those killed in the April 20 explosion.
But such legal matters were far from the minds of the hundreds of mourners who attended Friday’s memorial service for Wyatt Kempt in the small rural Louisiana town of Jonesville Mr Kemp, 27, who was married to his teenage sweetheart and had two young daughters, worked on Deepwater Horizon for three years, following his own father into the dangerous world of the offshore oil fields.
“Wyatt liked the work and the money was good,” said his grandmother, Carolyn Kemp. “There aren’t many options for paying the bills round here.” Indeed, Mr Kemp’s brother Sandon will return to another rig after coming home to attend the service.
No bodies have been recovered from the waters. But a survivor told Mrs Kemp that there was no chance that her grandson escaped the series of blasts that ripped through the pumphouse where he was last seen.
When the rig exploded, he was just 75 minutes away from the end of his three-week stint at sea. Only the helicopter ride back to land should have awaited him. Telegraph
Attachments
South Pass, LA, USA.kmz (89 downloads)
Links to Current Information Regarding the Deepwater Horizon Incident
The following sources offer updates about this incident on a regular basis:
NOAA Office of Response and Restoration: Deepwater Horizon Incident, Gulf of Mexico
NOAA Incident News - DEEPWATER HORIZON Incident
NOAA Remnants of GULF_OF_MEXICO_OIL_SPILL QuickLook
USCG District 8 - Gulf of Mexico - Deepwater Horizon Incident
USCG District 8 - Deepwater Horizon Flickr Set
Twitter: Deepwater Horizon Response
Facebook: Deepwater Horizon Response
Transocean - Deepwater
EPA Response to BP Spill in the Gulf of Mexico
EPA Deepwater Horizon ASPECT Team KML Link
The following sources offer updates about this incident on a regular basis:
NOAA Office of Response and Restoration: Deepwater Horizon Incident, Gulf of Mexico
NOAA Incident News - DEEPWATER HORIZON Incident
NOAA Remnants of GULF_OF_MEXICO_OIL_SPILL QuickLook
USCG District 8 - Gulf of Mexico - Deepwater Horizon Incident
USCG District 8 - Deepwater Horizon Flickr Set
Twitter: Deepwater Horizon Response
Facebook: Deepwater Horizon Response
Transocean - Deepwater
EPA Response to BP Spill in the Gulf of Mexico
EPA Deepwater Horizon ASPECT Team KML Link
An oceanographer at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, Dr. Nick Shay, has stated that the oil spill could be carried by the Loop Current to Florida's beaches and then out to the Atlantic Ocean.
From cleanenergy.org: Loop Current Could Bring Oil to East Coast:
Quoting from Wikipedia: Loop Current:
The attachment contains an overlay of a map of the Loop Current. The map image is from University of Miami: Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies: The Loop Current.
From cleanenergy.org: Loop Current Could Bring Oil to East Coast:
Quote:
The next stop on BP's runaway disaster train: the "loop current". This warm water current sets up in the Gulf of Mexico and flows out through the Florida Straights, past the Keys and joins the Gulf Stream on the East Coast. Fishermen track the current because it is teeming with life and is a "harbinger of good catches". Dr. Nick Shay, a oceanographer at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, stated today that the oil spill could hit the Loop Current within 24 hours. Once the oil is entrained in the current, says Dr. Shay, it could take the oil a week or less to impact Florida's beaches, coral reefs, fisheries and ecosystems.
Quote:
Essentially this ongoing tragedy, which originated 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana, has the potential to now impact wildlife and economies all the way to Cape Hatteras, in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
Quoting from Wikipedia: Loop Current:
Quote:
Part of the Gulf Stream, the Loop Current is a warm ocean current in the Gulf of Mexico that flows northward between Cuba and the Yucatán peninsula, moves north into the Gulf of Mexico, loops west and south before exiting to the east through the Florida Straits.
A related feature is an area of warm water called an "Eddy" or "Loop Current ring" that separates from the Loop Current, somewhat randomly. These rings then drift to the west at speeds of about 5 cm/s (0.18 km/h or 0.11 mph) and bump into the coast of Texas or Mexico.
Around 1970, it was believed that the Loop Current exhibited an annual cycle in which the Loop feature extended farther to the north during the summer. Further study over the past few decades, however, has shown that the extension to the north (and the shedding of eddies) does not have a significant annual cycle.
A related feature is an area of warm water called an "Eddy" or "Loop Current ring" that separates from the Loop Current, somewhat randomly. These rings then drift to the west at speeds of about 5 cm/s (0.18 km/h or 0.11 mph) and bump into the coast of Texas or Mexico.
Around 1970, it was believed that the Loop Current exhibited an annual cycle in which the Loop feature extended farther to the north during the summer. Further study over the past few decades, however, has shown that the extension to the north (and the shedding of eddies) does not have a significant annual cycle.
The attachment contains an overlay of a map of the Loop Current. The map image is from University of Miami: Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies: The Loop Current.
Attachments
LoopCurrent.kmz (100 downloads)
Current NOAA forecast overlayed in SE Louisiana and near other major coastal US cities for scale. The oil is moving around to the west side of the Mississippi River - a major worsening of the situation with regards to the fisheries.
-Ramiro Diaz
-Ramiro Diaz
Attachments
BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Extents, May 6, 2010.kmz (84 downloads)
| Photo  Another one for perspective - on how nasty the stuff is. Photo posted in The Globe and Mail (Canada), 5/6/10. |
HERE is another version of the comparison maps, found by seer. An additional feature is that you can enter your own city to see what that looks like. I tried my very small city in Oregon and it worked - and also for Carpi, Italy and Ozd, Hungary!
I would like to update the USEPA link on this post. Refer to http://www.epa.gov/bpspill/dhorizon_apr2010_nlink.kml to view all EPA aerial, oblique and infrared imagery. It is quite amazing what this ASPECT Team is doing and how they are incorporating it into Google Earth. Click on the white rectangular ASPECT icon to obtain all their data - 1700 aerial photos, 1100 obliques, 250 infrared images.
"Oil from a massive slick in the Gulf of Mexico has started washing ashore on an island chain off the coast of Louisiana, US officials have confirmed.
Pelicans and other birds covered in oil have been found on the uninhabited Chandeleur islands, which are part of the Breton National Wildlife Refuge.
A federal maritime agency said there was "oiling all over" the islands.
Earlier, workers began lowering a giant funnel over the leaking oil well at the bottom of the sea to harvest the spill.
Remote-controlled submarines are being used to lower the 90-tonne containment device in an operation expected to take two days.
Oil has been leaking unstopped for 18 days from the well, 50 miles (80km) off Louisiana, since an explosion destroyed the Deepwater Horizon rig, operated by Transocean and leased by BP, last month"... more
Pelicans and other birds covered in oil have been found on the uninhabited Chandeleur islands, which are part of the Breton National Wildlife Refuge.
A federal maritime agency said there was "oiling all over" the islands.
Earlier, workers began lowering a giant funnel over the leaking oil well at the bottom of the sea to harvest the spill.
Remote-controlled submarines are being used to lower the 90-tonne containment device in an operation expected to take two days.
Oil has been leaking unstopped for 18 days from the well, 50 miles (80km) off Louisiana, since an explosion destroyed the Deepwater Horizon rig, operated by Transocean and leased by BP, last month"... more
Attachments
Oil slick hits Chandeleur Islands.kmz (16 downloads)
Attached is KML containing most of the NASA satellite imagery of the area and the NOAA Trajectory Maps. I'll try to keep adding data to it as I find.
http://www.gelib.com/deepwater-horizon-oil-spill.htm
http://www.gelib.com/deepwater-horizon-oil-spill.htm
Attachments
gulf-oil-spill_nl.kml (35 downloads)
Just put together all of your overlays and information into one neat, handy file.
This has the blowout trajectory overlay, aspect photos, maps, satellite imagery, flyover images, and loop current overlay, as well as an additional narrated tour.
Along with the tour, I've also written a companion piece on my website with Stanford History Professor Martin Lewis: Geocurrents.info
I feel that the loop current overlays and blowout trajectory should be continually tracked closely in the coming weeks, to see if the spill will threaten the Gulf Stream.
I'm also curious if there's a way to track the boats working on the Gulf spill from overhead, as it would be interesting to document the scope of the cleanup efforts.
I'm listening to Arthur Russel's song "The Platform on the Ocean,"
right now, and its never sounded so eerie.
Great work thus far. The response in the community has been both timely and strong. All contributors have much to be proud of, in getting the truth out about this tragedy.
This has the blowout trajectory overlay, aspect photos, maps, satellite imagery, flyover images, and loop current overlay, as well as an additional narrated tour.
Along with the tour, I've also written a companion piece on my website with Stanford History Professor Martin Lewis: Geocurrents.info
I feel that the loop current overlays and blowout trajectory should be continually tracked closely in the coming weeks, to see if the spill will threaten the Gulf Stream.
I'm also curious if there's a way to track the boats working on the Gulf spill from overhead, as it would be interesting to document the scope of the cleanup efforts.
I'm listening to Arthur Russel's song "The Platform on the Ocean,"
right now, and its never sounded so eerie.
Great work thus far. The response in the community has been both timely and strong. All contributors have much to be proud of, in getting the truth out about this tragedy.
Attachments
Deepwater Horizon.kmz (102 downloads)
http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1325647&page=1
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