Wondered where all the oil spill was?
If you have been reading this blog, or listening to experts describing the daily ration of oil spewing into the Gulf as being much larger than reported by NOAA, and jumped on by BP, you must have wondered what could have happened to the oil.
Wonder no more! Scientists have discovered massive oil plumes in the Gulf including one measuring 10 miles by 3 miles by 300 feet thick, according to New York Times.
To put the measurement into some prospective, a plume measuring as described above would be very large, indeed, and supports our earlier estimates that the at least 25,000bpd of crude oil was gushing out of the ruptured pipe.
Meanwhile, BP admitted that its latest attempt to stop the leak, by threading a much narrower 6-in (15-cm) tube inside a 21-inch (53-cm) riser-pipe, to funnel the oil to a vessel at the surface had failed.
A company spokesman said, they would try again.
Meanwhile, the British newspaper Guardian reported BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward as saying that the size of the spill was “tiny” compared to how large the he Gulf of Mexico was.
Cozy Relationship Or Federal Felony
Readers would recall that President Barrack Obama declared that the epoch of “cozy relationship” between oil firms and US regulators was over.
“For too long, for a decade or more, there’s been a cozy relationship between the oil companies and the federal agency that permits them to drill,” Obama said.
“That cannot and will not happen anymore,” Obama added.…
What the President failed doing was to define the exact meaning of a “cozy relationship.” Was it about the oil executive and MMS officials sharing a joint together, swapping sexual partners and doing each other a few “harmless” favors, or was it about breaking the law and committing a federal felony?
Environmental group suing U.S. Govt over oil permits
The Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group, has filed a notice of intent to sue Ken Salazar the U.S. Interior Secretary, and the Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) for failing to get the necessary environmental permits, required by two environmental laws, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and the Endangered Species Act, before approving offshore oil operations.
Note, the key words and phrases here are, “failing to get the necessary environmental permits,” the Endangered Species Act and “the Marine Mammal Protection Act.” and
“The Marine Mammal Protection Act and Endangered Species Act prohibit private entities, such as oil companies, as well as federal agencies, such as the Minerals Management Service — the branch of the Interior Department responsible for managing offshore oil activities — from killing, harming, or harassing marine mammals, unless they have received authorizations and take measures to minimize the impacts of their activities. The Endangered Species Act protects species such as the sperm whale, which is listed as endangered, while the Marine Mammal Protection Act applies to all marine mammals, such as the bottlenose dolphin and the Florida manatee.” The group said in their notice.
Ongoing Risk of Deepwater Drilling
The fact remains however that there are at least 77 drilling rigs and commercially producing oil platforms operating in deep waters of Gulf of Mexico, and many more are slated to go on line.
Also, Fire-Earth Moderators forecast the probability of another major oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico between now and December 2011 at greater than 90 percent. SEE: https://feww.wordpress.com/2010/05/01/fire-earth-forecasts-10-major-oil-spills-to-end-2011/
Related Links:
- Gulf of Mexico: A Waiting Disaster
- Oil Disasters [Index Page includes links to other oil spills, news and information]
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