This says it all:
A cap was placed atop the blown-out Gulf of Mexico oil well Thursday night, but oil was still spewing into the Gulf waters on Friday morning.
The containment cap was placed over the main pipe on the leaking well on Thursday, but the oil flow seemed to overpower that cap. BP spokesman Toby Odone said he had no immediate information on whether the cap was successfully attached. […]
Part of this LMRP containment cap process involved the cutting of the riser pipe, which was ultimately achieved on Thursday morning. But that step in the process likely increased the flow of oil into the Gulf. The cut was supposed to allow for the cap to be fitted over the leak, allowing for minimal oil to escape its grasp. Video of the leak on Friday morning did not show the cap, just a cloud of oil flowing.
I’m beginning to think that they should have accepted for James Cameron’s offer to help. Everything they’ve done so far has failed or made things worse.
Frankly, BP has seemed to be out of its depth since day one, using technology from three decades ago intended for shallower waters to try to deal with an oil leak at nearly a mile below the surface of the ocean. I suspect Cameron and the people he has worked with have more experience with submersibles at such depths than any BP engineer.
Let’s put it this way: he couldn’t have done any worse. And I hate the guy.
Meanwhile, here’s a simulation about where all that oil (no one knows exactly how much but somewhere between between 21 million and 46 million gallons) may go. It’s a horror film so don’t let the kids watch it:
