Thursday, June 17, 2010
(photo: Rick Wilking, Reuters)
The amount of oil flowing into the Gulf of Mexico could be 12 times higher the federal government originally estimated, based on new figures released out of Washington. The U.S. Department of Energy, in collaboration with the Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey and the National Incident Command’s Flow Rate Technical Group is now saying the flow-rate range could be 35,000 to 60,000 barrels of oil a day. The first official estimate pegged the spill at 5,000 barrels a day.
If the flow rate is on the high end, at 60,000 barrels, that would mean about 2.5 million gallons of oil a day is polluting the gulf—an amount equal to the Exxon Valdez spill every four days.
Only last week, federal officials estimated the flow rate at only between 25,000 and 30,000 barrels a day.
BP has said it is currently capturing only 15,000 barrels a day.
If the new flow range proves accurate, BP could wind up paying $258 million in federal fines a day if the company is found guilty of gross negligence for its actions that led to the Deepwater Horizon disaster.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Estimates of Oil Flow Jump Higher (by Justin Gillis, New York Times)
U.S. Scientific Team Draws on New Data, Multiple Scientific Methodologies to Reach Updated Estimate of Oil Flows from BP’s Well (Deepwater Horizon Response)
Oil Spill Estimates Go Higher and Higher …up to an Exxon Valdez Every 10 Days (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)
Are BP and Obama Hiding Size of Gulf Oil Spill To Lessen Lawsuit Damages? (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)
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