SAFE OFFSHORE OIL DRILLING?

Halting Oil Flow Likely to Take Months
Russell Gold and Guy Chazan (w/Angel Gonzalez and Jeffrey Ball), April 27, 2010 (Wall Street Journal)

"Capping the leaking oil well a mile below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico is increasingly likely to take months, government and industry officials warned…[A]bout 1,000 barrels of oil a day are still flowing into the Gulf, feeding a slick that has spread across hundreds of miles. Clean-up efforts gained momentum as calmer seas made work easier for 17 ships, some equipped with booms to corral the oil so it can be skimmed up.

"Federal officials said they didn't know when the slick, which was about 30 miles off Venice, La., was likely to reach the coast but didn't expect landfall in the next three days…[E]quipment was in place to protect coastlines."

Environmentally safe - untill it isn't. (click to enlarge)

"…[R]emote-controlled submarines had failed as of Monday afternoon to activate equipment on the ocean floor that is meant to shut off flow from the well… BP PLC…is continuing with back-up plans, bringing in two drilling vessels that might be able to stem the flow by injecting special heavy liquids into the well…[This] would take two to three months.

"Vast swaths of reddish brown were visible Monday afternoon from a Coast Guard helicopter hovering 400 feet above the drilling site, where the small armada of ships hired by BP worked to collect the oil. A few miles away, a C-130 airplane released chemicals to disperse the long column of oil. A lighter sheen seemed to stretch to the horizon."

Drifting toward shore. (click to enlarge)

"Wildlife is already starting to be affected…Among the threatened sea life are whales, sea turtles, and the larvae of fish and shellfish that compose an economically important industry along the Gulf…Investors are growing worried about the rising costs associated with shutting off the well and cleaning up the spill. BP's American depositary shares fell 3.3%…

"The drama in the Gulf began April 20…[Oil] pushed its way up the well and caught fire. The crew of 126 had to evacuate the rig; 11 are missing and presumed dead…The rig sank 36 hours later, severely bending the pipe that connected it with equipment on the seafloor…Shutting the well down will probably be a slow process…[L]ast year, it took 10 weeks and four attempts to shut down a similarly out-of-control well in the Timor Sea off Australia…BP is also looking into lowering a dome over the leak…[Engineers are] studying how to use a dome in 5,000 feet of water."