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Monday, July 19, 2010

U.S. Demands Action Over Seep Near BP Well

Government, oil giant clash over what to do next with capped Gulf gusher

NEW ORLEANS
— A seep has been detected around BP's busted oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, causing new concerns about how well a newly installed cap is working and prompting the government to demand that BP step up its monitoring of the seabed.

Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen announced the seep late Sunday and made the demands in a letter to BP. He did not say what was coming from the seep.

Since pressure readings on the cap weren't as high as expected, the concern is that there is a leak elsewhere in the wellbore, meaning the cap may have to be reopened to prevent the environmental disaster from becoming even worse and harder to fix.

Scientists still aren't sure whether the pressure readings mean a leak elsewhere in the well bore, possibly deep down in bedrock, which could make the seabed unstable. Oil would have to be released into the water to relieve pressure and allow crews to hook up the ships to bring the oil out, BP and Allen have said.

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

i find it suspicious that BP wanted to keep this thing capped and the administration said, no we want it reopened. now its suddenly leaking again.
obama is trying to make oil look bad and he doesnt care how or who stands in his way.

Anonymous said...

They need to keep the cap open so the seabed won't collapse. The oil casing is damaged and oil will seep / is seeping into the bedrock. Sooner or later it will find its way into the ocean.

Anonymous said...

There is nothing BP can do to make the current administration happy. The President, shortly before this blow out, was going to allow offshore drilling off the east coast. Conveniently, a massive oil spill occurs about 2 weeks later. The Governor of Louisiana screamed at the top of his lungs for berms to protect the wetlands in his state. Guess who drug their feet citing, of all things,environmental concerns. Then the same man sets up tankers to suck, separate and mover the oil out of the gulf... denied again due to life jacket violations. International help denied from day 1. Oil booms sitting in Maine. Now that it looks like the oil might be stopped, open the cap! Now I am wondering how to blame this on G.W.