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Washington (AFP) Sept 23, 2010 An independent study published Thursday backed official estimates on the release of oil from the ruptured BP well in the Gulf of Mexico, with researchers confirming it as "the largest marine oil accident ever." The researchers led by Timothy Crone of the Earth Institute at Columbia University used high-resolution video clips from the Deepwater Horizon well to measure volume, and concluded the quantity spilled was 4.4 million barrels or 185 million gallons. That was close to the latest consensus estimate of government advisors of 4.1 million barrels spilled from the well off the coast of Louisiana after it ruptured following an April 20 explosion until it was sealed 87 days later, the scientists said. Using a new technique to analyze underwater video of the well riser, the scientists said the well leaked some 56,000 to 68,000 barrels daily or more until the first effective cap was installed, on July 15. The paper appears in this week's online edition of the journal Science. A statement released by the researchers said it was "the first independent, peer-reviewed paper on the leak's volume," and that it "affirmed heightened estimates of what is now acknowledged as the largest marine oil accident ever." "We wanted to do an independent estimate because people had the sense that the numbers out there were not necessarily accurate," said Crone, a marine geophysicist at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. "After BP and government officials downplayed the possibility or importance of measurements, a wide spectrum of scientists, environmental groups and legal experts pointed out that the information was needed to determine both short- and long-term responses, and monetary liability." The study said the flow from April 22 to June 3 was around 56,000 barrels a day. But after a riser was cut June 3 the flow increased to about 68,000 barrels. The researchers subtracted 804,877 barrels collected by BP at the site, to come up with a total of 4.4 million barrels that escaped, but said the margin of error for their estimate is 20 percent. The study used a technique called "optical plume velocimetry" that tracks the motion of turbulence in the water in video and breaks down the movement pixel by pixel. US officials finally declared BP's broken well in the Gulf of Mexico "dead" on Sunday, five months after a deadly oil rig explosion set off one of the costliest and largest environmental disasters ever. Although the troublesome well may have been killed once and for all, BP still faces a long uphill battle to clean up the Gulf, a litany of lawsuits, billions of dollars in fines and shareholders angered by the firm's instability after its share price more than halved. The US government released an estimate August 2 that an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico, of which 800,000 barrels were captured.
earlier related report Senator Mary Landrieu said Jacob Lew, whose nomination got 22-1 support Thursday from the Senate Budget Committee, "lacked sufficient concern for the host of economic challenges confronting the Gulf Coast." "I cannot support further action on Mr Lew's nomination... until I am convinced that the president and his administration understand the detrimental impacts that the actual and de facto moratoria continue to have on the Gulf Coast," she said in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Obama ordered a six month freeze on deepwater offshore oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico shortly after a massive BP oil leak from an undersea well. The freeze was annulled by a court in July and promptly reinstated by the government. It expires on November 30. BP's busted well was finally declared "dead" on Sunday, five months after a deadly oil rig explosion set off one of the costliest and largest environmental disasters ever. Landrieu said Interior Department data showed the drilling ban would cost the Gulf region nearly 22,000 jobs and 10.2 billion dollars in losses to the oil sector. Obama nominated Lew to succeed Peter Orzag as head of the White House Office of Management and Budget. Lew would be reprising a role as White House budget director that he played for Bill Clinton, the last Democratic president, in an administration remembered as a model of fiscal restraint and careful budgeting. During the first 17 months of the Obama administration, Lew served under Hillary Clinton as the deputy secretary of state for management and resources, effectively overseeing the vast department as chief operating officer. Lew's task is daunting, as budget directors have few tools to trim the fat of the US government's operating costs other than unpopular tax increases or painful spending cuts.
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Algeria launches new oil and gas licensesAlgiers, Algeria (UPI) Sep 23, 2010 Algeria has launched its third oil and gas licensing round and hopes it will revive the fortunes of the country's scandal-hit energy industry after a purge of top officials in what is widely seen as a political power struggle. The previous bidding rounds, in 2008 and 2009, were a fizzle with few international oil companies showing interest in the blocks that were offered. The gov ... read more |
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