BP ‘Burying Its Head in the Sand’ on Oil Flow Size, Markey Says
May 17, 2010, 12:39 AM EDT
(For more on the Gulf oil spill, see {EXT4 <GO>}.)
By Kim Chipman and Jordan Burke
May 16 (Bloomberg) -- BP Plc is “burying its head in the sand” and refusing to give details about the magnitude of the oil flow in the Gulf of Mexico, U.S. Representative Edward Markey said today.
The oil company should immediately release video that would help independent researchers gauge the size of the almost month- old spill, Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, said in a statement. Markey accused the company of failing to provide him with requested information about the amount of oil flowing beneath the Gulf’s surface.
“These huge plumes of oil are like hidden mushroom clouds that indicate a larger spill than originally thought and portend more dangerous long-term fallout for the Gulf of Mexico’s wildlife and economy,” Markey said.
Scientists working on the research ship Pelican, a mission backed by the Obama administration, found submerged pools of oil-contaminated water in the Gulf of Mexico as big as 10 miles long, 3 miles wide and 300 feet thick in some parts, according to Samantha Joye, a researcher at the University of Georgia who is part of the group gathering details about the spill.
Flow Findings Differ
The findings raise more questions about BP’s estimate that the oil flow stands at 5,000 barrels a day.
“It’s clear I think now that this leak is a lot bigger,” Joye said in an interview today. “There’s much more material flowing out of this pipe than was previously expected or accepted.”
The Pelican’s mission was reported earlier today by the New York Times.
Judy Haner, marine program director for the Nature Conservancy in Mobile, Alabama, said the discrepancy in estimates doesn’t surprise her. “There’s a lot of uncertainty out there,” she said in an interview.
BP spokesman Mark Proegler said earlier today that the company is looking into the scientists’ claims about the size of the flow, though the main focus remain on “stopping the leak and minimizing the impact on the surface.” The oil producer didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on Markey’s statement.
Joye said that she supports Markey’s call for BP to provide more video to help scientists study the spill.
“I think the heat will be turned up” and BP will have “no choice,” she said. Joye also noted that BP gave her group “amazing” access to the leak site, allowing researchers to get samples “very, very close,” or about 200 feet away, from the well head.
Deep-Water Plumes
Joye also said BP’s use of about 28,000 gallons of subsea dispersants may be contributing to formation of the large deep- water plumes.
The chemical dispersants, which have been approved by the Obama administration, break up the oil so that it sinks below the water’s surface, where BP and government officials say it will do less harm to the environment. The submerged oil has raised more questions about how the oil may affect sea life.
“It’s unclear at this point what’s going to happen,” Joye said.
“We are now entering a different phase of this disaster,” she said. “Everybody has been focusing on the surface impacts, which is normal. But now what we’ve got to switch gears and start thinking about the deep water.”
--Editors: Theo Mullen, Susan Warren
Businessweek:
http://www.businessweek.com/news/20...in-the-sand-on-oil-flow-size-markey-says.html
