Posted on 06/08/2010 5:18:55 AM PDT by chessplayer
WASHINGTON BP's runaway Deepwater Horizon well may be spewing what the company once-called its worst case scenario 100,000 barrels a day, a member of the government panel told McClatchy Monday.
Leifer said that based on satellite data he's examined, the rate of flow from the well has been increasing over time, especially since BP's "top kill" effort failed last month to stanch the flow. The decision last week to sever the well's damaged riser pipe from the its blowout preventer in order to install a "top hat" containment device has increased the flow still more _ far more, Leifer said, than the 20 percent that BP and the Obama administration predicted.
(Excerpt) Read more at mcclatchydc.com ...
That would have to be made on assumption that the casing etc is still maintaining its integrity all the way down. And remember this was a 13,500 psi well even when it was not kicking.
How much oil is gushing from the well has been the subject of heated debate for weeks, with independent scientists suggesting that as much as 95,000 barrels could be gushing into the Gulf of Mexico each day. For more than a month BP and the Obama administration placed the figure at 5,000 barrels a day.
On Monday, Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the Obama administration’s point man on the unfolding disaster, said that the government and BP still don’t know how much oil is escaping. The “top hat” containment device captured 11,000 barrels of oil on Sunday, Allen said, and that BP was moving a second ship into position above the well to bring to 20,000 barrels the amount of crude that could be processed daily.
Allen also said that BP is moving a production platform with far greater capacity to the Gulf though that equipment may not be in place for several weeks.
We just know that’s their capacity. We still havent established what the flow rate is, he said. That is the big unknown that were trying to hone in and get the exact numbers on.”
Even so, BPs videos of the gusher showed black oil continuing to flow heavily from all around the wellhead as the crude leaks from around the caps edges.
A team of experts from government science agencies and universities estimated last week that at a minimum 12,000 to 25,000 barrels a day were flowing from the well, but the team declined to estimate an upper end for the flow because the information they received from BP was inadequate.
Leifer, who is described in the flow rate’s preliminary report released last week as a “world reknown researcher” who’s published more than 60 scientific articles, said BP still has not delivered the data that scientists need for an accurate appraisal of the spill’s size.
“We’re still waiting,” he said.
LOL, if you’re waiting for BP to tell you, don’t hold your breath.
A team of experts from government science agencies and universities estimated last week that at a minimum 12,000 to 25,000 barrels a day were flowing from the well, but the team declined to estimate an upper end for the flow because the information they received from BP was inadequate.
Leifer, who is described in the flow rate’s preliminary report released last week as a “world reknown researcher” who’s published more than 60 scientific articles, said BP still has not delivered the data that scientists need for an accurate appraisal of the spill’s size.
“We’re still waiting,” he said.
Fox just had this story on a few minutes ago.
Based on what facts and understanding of how oil affects the oceans, and the amount of oil relative to the volume in question do you base that presumption ?
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