An oiled bird struggles to get over a boom in the middle of the Gulf oil spill. AP Photo
The weekend saw a mix of good and bad news on the BP oil spill front. On the positive side, Tropical Storm Alex will in all likelihood miss the oil spill and die off after making impact in Mexico. On the negative, the leak continues to gush out anywhere from 10,000 to 35,000 barrels of oil per day. The growing size of the spill is directly hitting more areas along the Gulf Coast as the pictures below illustrate. Here are the latest updates from the Gulf Coast oil spill. Pictures from the disaster can be seen below.
- BP's containment operation is now consistently capturing over 20,000 barrels each day. On Saturday the company claims to have captured or flared a total of 22,750 barrels. The first 12 hours of Sunday saw 7,935 barrels collected and 4,075 barrels flared. The total amount of oil leaking is still projected to be anywhere from 35,000 to 60,000 barrels of oil. By the end of the week BP hopes to add a third vessel to the containment effort which may increase capacity to 53,000 barrels per day.
- Tropical Storm Alex moved over the Yucatan peninsula and will now head into the Gulf of Mexico. There some forecasts have it strengthening into a hurricane before coming ashore in Mexico. At this time, it appears the storm system will not directly impact the BP oil spill which is good new for the relief effort. Click here for the most recent projection of the storm system.
- For the first time oil is now coming ashore in Mississippi due to the prevailing winds of the area. Previously, the state had only seen "tar balls" come across their shores. Mississippi now reluctantly joins Florida, Alabama, and Louisiana in the group of states impacted by heavy oil.
- BP's total cost for the spill now exceed $2.65 billion dollars. The total costs are expected to far exceed that, especially when the $20 billion escrow account is factored in the equation.
- The most recent projection of the oil spill has it impacting a large area across the Gulf Coast. Generally, the spill has tended to shift north and east over the past few days and that trend appears to be continuing with these projections.
Comments
Really this is going way too slow. We need to call in all experts and allow everyone to help. We can not allow this to continue. This is a tragedy of epic seriousness. The people there are suffering, the wildlife is suffering and everyone watching this. Please send in the USN and other experts that can figure out how to stop this. If not we will see this oil all the way to Brazil. I live in Costa Rica where our oil consumption is low and I do not feel like we should have oil on our shores because my home country will not clean this up and stop it now. Call in all geologists and University experts. Put our Navy on it instead of blowing them up in the war. We are at war right there in the Gulf.....................
I agree on how slow this is going. but i think BP needs to move on it. i applied for a job to help clean the oil spill up but have not heard anything back yet. BP will be resposible for the hole oil spill. if anyone has any heart then they would want to help not just sit there and watch everything in this oil spill's path be destroyed. if it got to my state i would be there front and center! GOD HELP US!
please stop the oil spill for my kids DRILL IN YOUR BACKYARD SEE Y THE WORLD IS ANDING IN 20/12 THAT OR GAVRMINT MONEY.....MONEY''WE THE POPLE HAS NO SAY NO MORE DRILLING
BP is a terrorist organization the same as Al Qaeda and BP Corporate officers have committed a terrorist act against America by murdering Americans and destroying the Gulf of Mexico (in process). Simply declare BP a terrorist organization and send all company officers to Guantanamo for daily waterboarding until they confess (Bush & Cheney solution) then introduce them to Cuban firing squad. The patriot act would apply and all problems are solved.
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