BP Oil Spill

The 40-foot-tall steel chamber BP hoped would capture the oil gushing from a damaged offshore well was another fail. It has now been over two weeks since BP's off-shore well exploded a mile down into the ocean. The explosion occurred after a blast on the Deepwater Horizon rig near Louisiana, killing 11 people who were on the well. This explosion has caused roughly 5,000 barrels of gasoline to leak into the ocean daily. This could soon become the worlds worst ever oil spill, reaching the coast of the US in the next week. When it does reach, 40 percent of the US wetlands may perish, threatening shrimping and fishing grounds, tourism and wildlife along the U.S. Gulf Coast. so what is BP doing to stop it?

Yesterday, BP lowered a 40 foot-tall steel chamber a mile down to the sea flour. Their hope was that the structure would capture the oil spilling from the offshore well and funnel it to a ship at the surface. This hope was blocked by an icy mixture of gas and water causing hydrate crystals to form. Since that didn't work, BP is drilling a relief well aimed at relieving the pressure, later leading to the stop of the spill. According to BP's COO, the well is "ahead of plan", already reaching a depth of 9,000 feet. That would be ahead of plan if the well exploded in the last few days, not weeks ago.

And BP knows they are in trouble, they are offering residents $5,000 to give up their right to sue the company. According to a few sources, the waiver read, "I hearby agree on behalf of myself and my representatives, to hold harmless and indemnify, and to release, waive, and forever discharge BP Exploration and Production Inc., its subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, directors, regular employees and independent contractors..." Instead of paying to not get sued, they should spend the money on a way to stop the leak, then they wouldn't have to worry about anyone suing them.

I can't seem to figure out how the company responsible for so much off-shore drilling, doesn't have a plan in place in case something like this happens. They should have a procedure in place in case anything like this happens, not wait weeks to decide on the right solution well the hazardous gas eats away at the ecosystem. And how is the president or the EPA not putting extreme pressure on BP to act considering how its affecting the US coast. The day they found out gas was pouring into the ocean, they should of acted on it. If I was the EPA, I would make sure these off shore wells have a procedure in place to follow in case a spill occurs, it would save the ecosystem a ton. After all, the week the spill occurred, the EPA had a full out website with data on the spill’s impact on the environment and the health of nearby residents. But over all, i think BP has handled this whole situation wrong, and before they go back to drilling, a plan should be implemented to prevent this from ever happening.