Oil spill numbers in US Gulf keep getting worse
Source: Agencies |
June 12, 2010, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
NEW figures for the blown-out well at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico show the amount of oil spewing may have been up to twice as much as previously thought, according to scientists consulting with the US government.
That could mean 160 million liters to more than 380 million liters of oil have already fouled the Gulf's fragile waters, affecting people who live, work and play along the coast from Louisiana to Florida in the United States -- and perhaps beyond.
It is the third -- and perhaps not the last -- time the US government has had to increase its estimate of how much oil is gushing. Trying to clarify what has been a contentious and confusing issue, officials on Thursday gave a wide variety of estimates.
All the new spill estimates are worse than earlier ones -- and far more costly for BP, which has seen its stock sink since the April 20 explosion that killed 11 workers and triggered the spill. Most of Thursday's estimates had more oil flowing in an hour than what officials once said was spilling in an entire day.
"This is a nightmare that keeps getting worse every week," said Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club environmental group.
The spill was flowing at a daily rate that could possibly have been as high as 8 million liters, twice the highest number the federal government had been saying, US Geological Survey Director Marcia McNutt said.
The estimate was for the flow before June 3 when a riser pipe was cut and then a cap placed on it. No estimates were given for the amount of oil gushing from the well after the cut, which BP said would increase the flow by about 20 percent. Nor are there estimates since a cap was put on the pipe, which already has collected more than 11 million liters.
Even using other numbers, federal officials and scientists call a more reasonable range would have about 238 million liters spilling since the rig explosion.
By comparison, the worst peacetime oil spill, 1979's Ixtoc 1 in Mexico, was about 530 million liters over 10 months. The Gulf spill hasn't yet reached two months. The Exxon Valdez, the previous worst US oil spill, was just about 41 million liters.
That could mean 160 million liters to more than 380 million liters of oil have already fouled the Gulf's fragile waters, affecting people who live, work and play along the coast from Louisiana to Florida in the United States -- and perhaps beyond.
It is the third -- and perhaps not the last -- time the US government has had to increase its estimate of how much oil is gushing. Trying to clarify what has been a contentious and confusing issue, officials on Thursday gave a wide variety of estimates.
All the new spill estimates are worse than earlier ones -- and far more costly for BP, which has seen its stock sink since the April 20 explosion that killed 11 workers and triggered the spill. Most of Thursday's estimates had more oil flowing in an hour than what officials once said was spilling in an entire day.
"This is a nightmare that keeps getting worse every week," said Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club environmental group.
The spill was flowing at a daily rate that could possibly have been as high as 8 million liters, twice the highest number the federal government had been saying, US Geological Survey Director Marcia McNutt said.
The estimate was for the flow before June 3 when a riser pipe was cut and then a cap placed on it. No estimates were given for the amount of oil gushing from the well after the cut, which BP said would increase the flow by about 20 percent. Nor are there estimates since a cap was put on the pipe, which already has collected more than 11 million liters.
Even using other numbers, federal officials and scientists call a more reasonable range would have about 238 million liters spilling since the rig explosion.
By comparison, the worst peacetime oil spill, 1979's Ixtoc 1 in Mexico, was about 530 million liters over 10 months. The Gulf spill hasn't yet reached two months. The Exxon Valdez, the previous worst US oil spill, was just about 41 million liters.
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