Video Shows Federal Officials Knew Quickly of Potential for Massive Oil Flow in Gulf Spill

AL.com / Birmingham Press-Register ^ | 5/1/2010 - Yes, MAY 1st | Ben Raines

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A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration video, shot as officials coordinated response to the Deepwater Horizon disaster, shows that federal officials almost immediately worried that the oil well could leak up to 110,000 barrels per day, or 4.6 million gallons.

The video appears on a federal Web site.

It was filmed in Seattle, at NOAA's Western Regional Center, as scientists and federal officials in Seattle, Houston and New Orleans engaged in telephone conferences, according to a companion document on the Web site.

View full size (NOAA video still)Federal officials discuss the Gulf of Mexico oil spill soon after the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig. The image is a still frame from a NOAA Web site video depicting the meeting at the agency's Western Regional Center in Seattle.

The video appears to have been edited, and it was shot by a person carrying a camera from room to room.

In it, officials are discussing the search for survivors of the Deepwater Horizon explosion. There is a hand-drawn map of the spill dated April 22. At one point, the video freezes on a sign next to a door that reads, "War Room."

In one scene, officials say that the estimate for the leak in a worst-case scenario is between 65,000 and 100,000 barrels per day. A dry erase board on the wall reads "Estim: 64,000 to 110,000 bbls/day. CNN reported 300,000 gal/day."

The high end of the estimate, 110,000 barrels, is about 4.6 million gallons. At that spill rate, 32 million gallons of oil would enter the Gulf every week. By comparison, the entire Exxon Valdez spill was about 11 million gallons.

Officials estimate current flow from the damaged well at 210,000 gallons a day.

It is unclear from the video what events would have to transpire to raise the flow rate higher.

A confidential NOAA report, dated April 28 and circulated among federal agencies, makes similar projections regarding spill size in a worst-case situation.

View full size (NOAA video still)A hand-drawn map of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill dated April 22, 2010, is seen in this image from a video downloaded from the NOAA Web site. The video shows federal officials discussing the oil spill soon after the Deepwater Horizon exploded.

It describes newly discovered leaks in the tangle of riser pipe, attributing them to ongoing erosion of the pipe. The riser pipe, in this case about 5,000 feet long, connects the wellhead on the sea floor to the drilling rig on the surface.

"If the riser pipe deteriorates further, the flow could become unchecked," reads the report.

On Thursday, the day after the NOAA report was circulated, BP officials said they were worried about "erosion" of the piping.

Sand is an integral part of the formations that hold oil under the Gulf. The raw crude rising from the bottom of a well carries sand and other abrasive materials. In effect, the oil is sandblasting the piping as it rushes through with tremendous force, according to petroleum engineers.

"I think we need to be prepared for it to be the spill of the decade," Debbie Payton of NOAA, the meeting's coordinator, says during the NOAA video.

NOAA did not immediately respond to the Press-Register's request for comment on the video.

• EARLIER REPORT: Government fears Deepwater Horizon well could become unchecked gusher

View full size (NOAA video still)A still image from a video downloaded from the NOAA Web site shows a dry erase board with figures depicting the potential oil flow. Oil has been spewing into the Gulf of Mexico since the offshore drilling rig exploded and sank. Eleven oil rig workers are missing and presumed to be dead.

Related topics [I.O.: in AL.com]: Deepwater Horizon, Gulf of Mexico oil spill, Gulf oil spill, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, oil spill Read this at it's original site, published May 1 at AL.com. http://blog.al.com/live/2010/05/video_shows_federal_officials.html

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Also re-posted with comments and the featured video at Investigating Obama

ht: anonymous Tweeter

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[PMAS]

*

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Listen to the video. They say it loud and clear. See the photos. They knew, immediately.

video, video, video

[UCANSEE2]

It matters less what they ‘knew’, than what they have done as a result.

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It matters less what they ‘knew’, than what they have done as a result.

The former is what is necessary to drive the latter. They have no excuse, if America hears and sees this story.

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The audio and the whiteboard belie the understatement of this article's title.

They knew.

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Who has an excellent ear and is a very good, fast transcriber?

[KevinDavis]

Well well well well..

[Rumierules]

Why does this matter? Are officials on record as believing that the spill would be far less devastating?

[ignoramus2010]

The administration knew it was bad, but they kept using the 5,000 number for many weeks, even though it was obvious the leak was far greater.

[Leo Carpathian]

Kenyan allows exploration off coasts (how gracious).
Rig gets safety awards (knowing about abrasion, impeding disaster)
Rig blows, burns (slooow response, spew, baby speeew)
Crisis to be used to stop oil drilling and paralyze America, take over oil companies.
Let it get really bad, so they can pass more crippling laws, really fast - crisiiiiis!!!
Screw the beaches and fish, it is all capitalistic tool for enrichement.
Get the union thugs to clean up at $95/hour.
Invite Chinese and Chavezians to show how to drill safely by people’s army.
There is your blueprint for adding oil industry to Kenyan's portfolio.

[Oceander]

Nice work!

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6 minutes 35 seconds, man on the phone: "I've heard two different estimates on, some'n, far as uh, between sixty-five and a hundred thousand barrels a day."

[Matchett-PI]

Video http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/2505164/posts?page=51#51
Picture: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/2505164/posts?page=69#69

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Updated:

http://investigatingobama.blogspot.com/2010/06/video-shows-us-government-well-aware-in.html

The truth has been hiding in plain sight at AL.com, since May Day.

[R0CK3T]

Quick - somebody grab that famous picture of Hillary holding up the news headline that said “BUSH KNEW” and superimpose this POS name.

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Good catch.

[Cobra64]

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A room full of smoking guns.