BP thought they were clear, until the government ordered them to uncap the valves they just capped off as outlined by the New York Times. This try that BP has made, although it is their 10th, has been working as far as any person could tell. Now it has become a big concern that the ocean floor itself is leaking oil.
Obama becomes a BP problem
There is more coming than just the PR and financial difficulties BP has had with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The Obama administration’s response to the catastrophe was hindered by the Jones Act, which inadvertently has given Republicans more than enough ammunition against Democrats as midterm elections approach. Oil seeping out of the floor will make the public angry once again. The Times shows us that even though the seep is being investigated still, Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen over the spill is allowing pressure testing to continue Tuesday.
So far, pressure testing looking good
Capping the well just means pressure tests have to be done so the well could be monitored for seep or a possible blowout. There is a lot to monitor with the well going three miles to the seabed. Oil and gas might start seeping into the ground, even if it doesn’t explode. At that point, little to nothing could be done to control its escape, wrote Allen in a recent press release.
Russian help?
Should President Obama try to see this through with the resources presently in use, or would an “independent set of eyes,” as Andrew Revkin writes in the Times , be just what the oil seep ordered? Oil seeping to the floor might happen at any depth. James Cameron has a panel of experts that offered a suggestion to the Obama administration. Submarines from Russia have the capability of going miles deep, which would allow BP to continue monitoring oil flow at lower depths. It would be easier to find a seep.
More info available at these websites
Deepwater Horizon Response
deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/doc/2931/791891/
New York Times
dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/18/bp-pressed-to-assess-seep-near-its-well/
Voices from Russia
02varvara.wordpress.com/2010/07/12/russian-mir-submersibles-may-go-to-gulf-of-mexico-to-fix-oil-well-gusher/
CNN reports on seep near well head
youtube.com/watch?v=DPeoRnWV4vw
