BP Oil Spill: Against Gov. Jindal's Wishes, Crude-Sucking Barges Stopped by Coast Guard
59 Days Into Oil Crisis, Gulf Coast Governors Say Feds Are Failing Them
June 17, 2010
Eight days ago, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal ordered barges to begin vacuuming crude oil out of his state's oil-soaked waters. Today, against the governor's wishes, those barges sat idle, even as more oil flowed toward the Louisiana shore.
Louisiana Governor Jindal Frustrated over decision making red tape. "It's the most frustrating thing," the Republican governor said today in Buras, La. "Literally, yesterday morning we found out that they were halting all of these barges."
Estimates of Oil Flow Jump Higher
By Justin Gillis
Published: June 15, 2010
A government panel on Tuesday released yet another estimate of the amount of oil flowing from BP’s damaged well, declaring that as much as 60,000 barrels a day could be spewing into the Gulf of Mexico.That is roughly 2.5 million gallons of oil a day, and it means an amount equal to the Exxon Valdez spill could be gushing from the well about every four days.
Continued
June 15th, 2010 by Tracey Jones
It has now been announced that up to 40,000 barrels of oil per day are leaking into the Gulf of Mexico; almost double initial estimates.
BP’s chairman will meet with President Barack Obama next week to discuss the incident, as politicians assure UK and US bilateral ties have not been dampened by the crisis. UK PM David Cameron is set to discuss the spill with Mr Obama over the weekend.
Oil has been leaking nearly two months now, since the Deepwater Horizon platform exploded on 20 April, sinking off Louisiana’s coastline and killing 11 people. According to BP the latest device placed at the well entrance had collected 15,800 barrels of oil on Wednesday, which was higher than the 15,010 collected the day before.
Tuesday, June 15: New estimates place leak at up to 9.54 million litres a day
NEW ORLEANS—Scientists have provided a new estimate for the size of the Gulf oil spill that indicate it could be worse than previously thought.
A government panel of scientists said Tuesday that the oil spill is leaking between 5.56 million to 9.54 million litres a day. That is an increase over previous estimates that put the maximum size of the spill at 8.33 million litres per day.
Earlier in the day, a small fire on the vessel capturing the crude prompted a shutdown for five hours by British Petroleum. During the shutdown, oil gushed unchecked from the company’s ruptured well. BP suspects a lightning strike ignited vapors escaping from a vent pipe connected to storage tanks holding captured oil.
