British Petroleum is "absolutely responsible" for oil spill

The chief executive of BP has conceded that the UK company is "absolutely responsible" for the oil spill threatening the coast off the Gulf of Mexico, which has been branded by President Obama as a "massive and potentially unprecedented environmental disaster."

May 3, 2010

Tony Hayward, who has been the chief executive of BP since 2007, said that the company was prepared to pay all legitimate claims relating to the growing crisis. "We've made it clear that where legitimate claims are made, we will be good for them," he said. "We have the claims process set up, small claims today that are being paid instantly...bigger claims we clearly have a process to run through." However, Mr Hayward also admitted that the company was preparing for a "worse case scenario" that it would need to contain the spill for two to three months.

The Deepwater Horizon rig, which is owned and operated by Transocean, exploded and sank nearly two weeks ago, claiming 11 lives. The site is gushing 200,000 gallons of oil a day into the Gulf.

During a flying visit to Louisiana yesterday, Mr Obama said: "BP is responsible for this leak. BP will be paying the bill." Mr Obama pledged as President to continue leading a "relentless response" by the Government. He said that that response began on day one, with the deployment of submersibles to survey all 5,000 feet of the pipe that is leaking oil into the Gulf. The bulk of the slick is nine miles offshore, Mr Obama said after a briefing from Admiral Thad Allen of the US Coast Guard.

As Air Force One touched down in New Orleans, fresh analysis of satellite photographs by the University of Miami indicated that the oil slick off the state of Mississippi may have tripled in size in the past two days. The economic shutdown that thousands of fishermen have been dreading for the past ten days came minutes after Mr Obama’s arrival.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced the closure of commercial shrimp and oyster fisheries from the Mississippi to Pensacola, 150 miles east on the Florida coast. The closure is initially for ten days but experts fear that prevailing currents will push the slick north and east, then south.

There are even fears that, if the wellhead spewing oil into the Gulf a mile below its surface remains uncapped, it could enter the Gulf Stream and travel up the eastern seaboard of the United States.

Documents dated February 2009 have emerged in which BP claimed to be ready to handle a leak in the Gulf of Mexico of up to eight million gallons a day. The total released since April 20 was put at 1.6 million gallons yesterday, but one Venice charter boat captain said it was already clear that BP was "pretty much in over its head in the deep water."

BP admits that none of its strategies to stem the release of oil has been tried before at this depth, but its most senior US official said yesterday that steel boxes could be in place over the leaks within six days. Oil would then be piped from the boxes to the surface.

Source: Times Online

 

Such a horrible tragedy. I am really embarrassed for the human race as a whole.

I mean, we are completely responsible for ruining the Earth.

Sorry sea turtles

 

Dead sea turtles are starting to wash up along the Gulf Coast. This weekend, there have been over 20 sea turtles and numerous fish found dead from Biloxi to Bay St. Louis in Mississippi.

 

And WILL the seafood industry and the wildlife there EVER fully recover from this?

EVER?



This is sad.














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