Wednesday, June 2, 2010

That Oil Spill Ain't Gonna Stop Itself

Not getting much better anytime soon.

NPR:

BP engineers are trying to overcome a new snag in undersea maneuvers to capture some of the oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico. Crews are trying to cut into the leaking pipe a mile below the ocean's surface, but work stalled when a diamond-edged saw used to sever the pipe got stuck according, to Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the national incident commander for the oil spill.

Allen, who is overseeing efforts to stop the flow, says it isn't uncommon for a saw to get stuck in the middle of a big job.

"Anybody who has ever used a saw knows it will bind up. That's what's happening there, and they're trying to move the riser pipe to free it or send another blade down," Allen said.

The company is trying to cut the broken pipe so it can be capped with an oil-collecting device that will then convey the spewing oil up to a ship on the surface. But it's considered a stopgap measure until August, when relief wells that will intersect the ruptured well will be completed.


And it is reaching the shore. The only good news; BP's stock is falling, rightfully so.

I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

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