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Unified
Command reported today (May17, 2010) that the Riser Insertion Tube, a
device that was implemented by BP in an attempt to siphon away the bulk
of the oil leaking from its damaged well, was only capturing around
1,000 barrels per day of leaking oil. Although an official estimate of
the actual leak rate has yet to be released independent estimations put
1,000 barrels per day at only a fraction of the rate of the leaking
oil. BP will attempt to slowly increase the amount of oil captured over
the next few days. BP COO Doug Suttles said that he will be "pleased to
capture 2000 barrels" of oil per day with the Riser Insertion Tool.
Suttles
also reported today that BP would implement a process called a "top
kill" in an effort to stop the flow of oil from the leaking well.
Suttles reported that BP was able to take pressure readings from the
Blowout Preventer (BOP) which were "fairly low" giving them confidence
about implementing the top kill which will be implemented later this
week or early next week.
The top kill process was used to regain
control of oil wells sabotaged during the first Gulf War. It has never
been used on deep undersea wells.
The process involves first
reconfiguring two valves on the BOP so that they can be used to pump
material into the BOP. Then a "junk shot" will be performed which is
basically just the injection of material into the BOP in an attempt to
clog the flow of oil at the bend in the riser pipe. BP reports that,
"(the) 'junk shot' will include well-known materials such as pieces of
tires, golf balls, pieces of rope, etc." If the flow of oil can be
sufficiently clogged with material then heavy drilling mud will be
pumped under high pressure into the BOP in an attempt to fill the well
with enough drilling mud to effectively "plug" the well.
Today
the Unified Command also reported that weather this week will be good
for response operations and that 4 controlled burns were planned and
that surface and subsurface dispersant deployment will continue.
Diagram Showing The "Top Kill" Process  |
Shuttle
reported taking a flyover of the spill area today and that he witnessed
the smallest amount of heavy oil to date. Surface and subsurface
dispersant use was credited with accomplishing this. U.S. Coast Guard
Rear Adm. Mary Landry reiterated that the important thing is to focus
on the reduction of surface oil.
NOAA Administrator Jane
Lubchenco released a statement saying, "Media reports related to the
research work conducted aboard the (Research Vessel) Pelican included
information that was misleading, premature and, in some cases,
inaccurate." NOAA, at a press conference today, said that the
researchers on the Pelican are "doing pretty good work," but wanted to
clarify that the Pelican found hydrocarbons in the water but it is not
clear exactly what it is. NOAA emphasized that there was no evidence
that there are layers of oil in the water column. Lower Mississippi
Riverkeeper Paul Orr responded to this saying, "why does NOAA appear to
be running interference for this private research venture? I sincerely
hope that the researchers on the Pelican and any other independent
researchers who will be analyzing this incident are allowed to do their
work and report their findings without interference from BP or the
Unified Command."
Suttles
also reported that BP, in response to decreased numbers of tourists
visiting the Gulf Coast due to the spill, is giving financial grants to
Gulf States to kickstart tourism. Lower Mississippi Riverkeeper Paul
Orr responded to this saying, "I think that we need to err on the side
of safety, I don't believe that we should be promoting people coming
into the potentially affected areas until we have a better
understanding of the effects of this spill on the Gulf."
 Visit SaveOurGulf.org
to get more information about the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster from
Waterkeeper organizations across the Gulf Coast and donate to Save Our
Gulf!
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