Obama to Review Operations as Gulf Spill Moves Ashore
By Margot Habiby and Katarzyna Klimasinska
May 2 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. President Barack Obama will arrive on the Gulf Coast today to review efforts to stem an oil- well leak with a flow rate that’s “impossible” to estimate, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
Some of the oil has reached land in Louisiana, and “the more significant oil is coming” within two days, Governor Bobby Jindal said at a news conference yesterday. More than 2,000 people have been deployed to protect the shoreline and coastal wildlife, according to a statement from the multiagency Joint Information Center coordinating the federal response.
BP Plc, the owner of the offshore well, is seeking ways to plug the leaks that are spewing crude 5,000 feet under the water’s surface. The company has started drilling a second well to take pressure off of the current gusher. The U.S. Coast Guard said it has been unable to get an accurate estimate of how much oil is leaking and is preparing for a worst-case scenario.
The oil spill followed an April 20 explosion on a drilling rig leased by BP. The rig, owned by Transocean Ltd., sank two days later. Obama has ordered that no new offshore drilling leases be issued until a “thorough review” of the incident is completed.
Flow Estimation Impossible
“Any exact estimation of what’s flowing out of those pipes right now is almost impossible because of the depth of the water,” said Admiral Thad Allen in a conference call with reporters yesterday. Allen, the U.S. Coast Guard commandant, was designated the national incident commander to coordinate efforts to control the oil spill and minimize the damage.
“The focus has to be to stop it at the source,” Allen said.
Obama is scheduled to make a statement at 2:30 p.m. local time today from Venice, Louisiana, after a briefing with response officials there.
BP’s so-called relief well is due to be completed in about 90 days, Michael Abendhoff, a company spokesman, said today in a phone interview from Robert, Louisiana.
While the London-based company has continued to spread chemicals under water close to the source of the leak, it hasn’t been able to fully assess the efficiency of the method, Abendhoff said. BP has released 156,012 gallons of dispersant so far to break up the oil, said Bill Salvin, another BP spokesman.
Strong winds and 7-to-10-foot waves make it impossible to measure whether the dispersants lowered the volume of oil emerging on the sea surface, Abendhoff said.
Flyovers Today
The response teams are able to do flyovers today after stormy weather yesterday, and forecasts call for improved weather for the next four to five days starting tomorrow at the earliest, Salvin said.
Surface estimates of the size of the slick and skimming efforts were hindered as the Coast Guard ordered boats and aircraft back to port because of stormy weather. Salvin said 23,968 barrels of crude and other material has been picked up by skimming boats.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration previously estimated the well is spewing 5,000 barrels of oil a day. At that rate, the volume of the spill would exceed Alaska’s 1989 Exxon Valdez accident by the third week of June.
BP Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward arrived in the Gulf area late last night to oversee efforts to combat the leak and will stay several days.
Production Halted
About 6.2 million cubic feet of gas production was halted yesterday as environmental and safety concerns stopped operations at two offshore platforms and prompted one to be evacuated. That’s less than a 10th of 1 percent of U.S. output.
“This is an American Chernobyl,” said Louie Miller, 55, senior representative for the Sierra Club in Mississippi, referring to the explosion at a Ukrainian nuclear reactor in 1986 that killed 56 people, destroyed wildlife and contaminated waterways. Oil “may not be radioactive, but it’s toxic.”
The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals advised residents not to swim or fish in affected waters and to prevent young children, pregnant women and pets from entering contaminated areas.
The impact on wildlife “depends on the tides, weather and other factors beyond our control,” Jay Holcomb, director of The International Bird Rescue Research Center, said in a statement. The organization has set up bird-rescue centers in Louisiana and Alabama.
Fishing Unaffected
Commercial shipping on Mississippi River fairways hasn’t been significantly affected so far, though that may change if cleanup efforts are implemented, Allen said. Traffic may be halted in contaminated areas or ships will have to be washed after passing through oily waters.
St. Bernard Parish in Louisiana will employ local fishermen to deploy protective booms after training them on the procedure yesterday morning, the parish said in a statement.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates approved a request by Jindal to mobilize as many as 6,000 National Guard troops to add security, medical support, engineers, communications capability and cleanup crews to the oil slick containment effort, spokesman Geoff Morrell said late April 30.
--With assistance from Aaron Kuriloff in Venice, Louisiana, Kari Lundgren in London, Fred Pals in Amsterdam, Jessica Resnick- Ault in New York, and Kate Andersen Brower in Washington.
May 2 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. President Barack Obama will arrive on the Gulf Coast today to review efforts to stem an oil- well leak with a flow rate that’s “impossible” to estimate, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
Some of the oil has reached land in Louisiana, and “the more significant oil is coming” within two days, Governor Bobby Jindal said at a news conference yesterday. More than 2,000 people have been deployed to protect the shoreline and coastal wildlife, according to a statement from the multiagency Joint Information Center coordinating the federal response.
BP Plc, the owner of the offshore well, is seeking ways to plug the leaks that are spewing crude 5,000 feet under the water’s surface. The company has started drilling a second well to take pressure off of the current gusher. The U.S. Coast Guard said it has been unable to get an accurate estimate of how much oil is leaking and is preparing for a worst-case scenario.
The oil spill followed an April 20 explosion on a drilling rig leased by BP. The rig, owned by Transocean Ltd., sank two days later. Obama has ordered that no new offshore drilling leases be issued until a “thorough review” of the incident is completed.
Flow Estimation Impossible
“Any exact estimation of what’s flowing out of those pipes right now is almost impossible because of the depth of the water,” said Admiral Thad Allen in a conference call with reporters yesterday. Allen, the U.S. Coast Guard commandant, was designated the national incident commander to coordinate efforts to control the oil spill and minimize the damage.
“The focus has to be to stop it at the source,” Allen said.
Obama is scheduled to make a statement at 2:30 p.m. local time today from Venice, Louisiana, after a briefing with response officials there.
BP’s so-called relief well is due to be completed in about 90 days, Michael Abendhoff, a company spokesman, said today in a phone interview from Robert, Louisiana.
While the London-based company has continued to spread chemicals under water close to the source of the leak, it hasn’t been able to fully assess the efficiency of the method, Abendhoff said. BP has released 156,012 gallons of dispersant so far to break up the oil, said Bill Salvin, another BP spokesman.
Strong winds and 7-to-10-foot waves make it impossible to measure whether the dispersants lowered the volume of oil emerging on the sea surface, Abendhoff said.
Flyovers Today
The response teams are able to do flyovers today after stormy weather yesterday, and forecasts call for improved weather for the next four to five days starting tomorrow at the earliest, Salvin said.
Surface estimates of the size of the slick and skimming efforts were hindered as the Coast Guard ordered boats and aircraft back to port because of stormy weather. Salvin said 23,968 barrels of crude and other material has been picked up by skimming boats.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration previously estimated the well is spewing 5,000 barrels of oil a day. At that rate, the volume of the spill would exceed Alaska’s 1989 Exxon Valdez accident by the third week of June.
BP Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward arrived in the Gulf area late last night to oversee efforts to combat the leak and will stay several days.
Production Halted
About 6.2 million cubic feet of gas production was halted yesterday as environmental and safety concerns stopped operations at two offshore platforms and prompted one to be evacuated. That’s less than a 10th of 1 percent of U.S. output.
“This is an American Chernobyl,” said Louie Miller, 55, senior representative for the Sierra Club in Mississippi, referring to the explosion at a Ukrainian nuclear reactor in 1986 that killed 56 people, destroyed wildlife and contaminated waterways. Oil “may not be radioactive, but it’s toxic.”
The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals advised residents not to swim or fish in affected waters and to prevent young children, pregnant women and pets from entering contaminated areas.
The impact on wildlife “depends on the tides, weather and other factors beyond our control,” Jay Holcomb, director of The International Bird Rescue Research Center, said in a statement. The organization has set up bird-rescue centers in Louisiana and Alabama.
Fishing Unaffected
Commercial shipping on Mississippi River fairways hasn’t been significantly affected so far, though that may change if cleanup efforts are implemented, Allen said. Traffic may be halted in contaminated areas or ships will have to be washed after passing through oily waters.
St. Bernard Parish in Louisiana will employ local fishermen to deploy protective booms after training them on the procedure yesterday morning, the parish said in a statement.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates approved a request by Jindal to mobilize as many as 6,000 National Guard troops to add security, medical support, engineers, communications capability and cleanup crews to the oil slick containment effort, spokesman Geoff Morrell said late April 30.
--With assistance from Aaron Kuriloff in Venice, Louisiana, Kari Lundgren in London, Fred Pals in Amsterdam, Jessica Resnick- Ault in New York, and Kate Andersen Brower in Washington.
beddowsnt - 2. Mai, 19:02
