“It’s BP well, their oil, and their mess to clean up...” which is why they spun off American operations this week, eh? Nothing like planning to declare bankruptcy to make sure you aren’t stuck with the costs. Obama just sent them a bill for $69 billion for cleanup thus far.
It may be “their oil” but it’s OUR country that these criminals are destroying. And by criminals, I mean just that. Or have you forgotten Texas City so soon?
I would further state that the Federal government has royalty rights on all oil that comes from this well head. For this reason it is important to quantify the amount of oil which is going into the gulf (whether later recovered or not). BP owes us dollars for it.
In addition certain fines are based upon the amount of oil spilled. Another reason to count the amount released.
Also an understanding of how much is coming out and the nature of what is coming out is essential to determining what actions need to be taken to mitigate the environmental impact.