May 14 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Representative Edward Markey said he is concerned BP Plc’s well in the Gulf of Mexico may be leaking as much as 70,000 barrels of oil a day, compared with previous estimates of 5,000 barrels.
Underestimating the spill may hinder efforts to control it, the Massachusetts Democrat said in a statement yesterday. Markey said he plans to investigate how much oil is gushing into the Gulf and send a letter to the company asking about their methods of determining the size.
“If you don’t understand the scope of the problem, the capacity to find the answer is severely compromised,” said Markey, chairman of a House Energy and Environment subcommittee. Estimates have risen to as much as 70,000 barrels a day, he said, citing “independent analyses reported in the media.”
BP’s Macondo well, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) off Louisiana’s coast, began leaking oil after the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded on April 20. U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu has picked a team of scientists to help BP and industry experts come up with back-up plans to stop the leak. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has estimated the well is spewing 5,000 barrels of oil a day.
On the Surface
“The assessment that is being used remains 5,000 barrels of oil a day, as estimated by NOAA,” Toby Odone, a spokesman for the London-based company, said by telephone today. Measuring the exact volume of oil leaking from the well is difficult and estimates are based on what appears on the surface, he said.
National Public Radio reported May 13 that 70,000 barrels of oil a day may be spilling into the sea, relying on analysis by an associate professor at Purdue University in Indiana. The accident may be worse than the Exxon Valdez incident of 1989, NPR said.
BP’s effort to use robots on the seafloor to close off the well failed, and a 40-foot steel structure meant to cap the leak was scuttled when the containment box became clogged with an icy slush of seawater and gas. The company is deliberating between using a smaller containment chamber to control the well or inserting a tube directly into the leaking pipe to channel the oil.
About $450 million has been spent on cleanup operations and settlements, or an average of $20 million a day since the rig exploded, up from the previous $6-million-a-day estimate. BP is also considering injecting debris including tire pieces and golf balls to seal the top of the well.
All of the options are interim measures to reduce the spill while the oil company drills a relief well that will permanently plug the leak. Drilling began on May 2 and will take about 90 days, the company has said.Fishing
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