BP Oil Spill and Top Kill

The top kill procedure was implemented to stop the oil spill in the Gulf Coast. The procedure has officially entered a "critical" period. The success of the top kill procedure will determine the fate of the BP oil spill, potentially the largest oil spill in U.S. history.

Top kill is a procedure in which mud will be pumped at a high downward pressure to thwart the upward pressure of the gushing oil. This procedure was to be implemented for as long as two days. This is the first time the top kill procedure was set to work underwater, even though it has been used for oil leaks above water. The point of the procedure is to provide enough mud force to overcome the steady leak of oil. We should be able to determine the success of the procedure within 48 hours from the beginning of the implementation.

The BP oil leak has been devastating to the Gulf Coast area since its explosion in April 20, 2010. Many attempts had been implemented by BP and the officials to stop the leak. However, all of them were futile and the oil continued to spill out. The costs of the spill were totally demoralizing. Approximately 7 million gallons of oil leaked out into the sea. The environment and the animals in the Gulf area were significantly threatened by the oil leak. In addition, during the explosion, 11 workers were killed. Offshore drilling was also to be under attack by numerous citizens and politicians.

While the top kill method was attempted and worked before, there would only be 60-70% chance that it would work this time. Because BP had tried many times and many methods to stop the oil leak unsuccessfully, it had been the target of public criticism. Some people began to believe that BP was making the oil leak worse to profit more. Yet this is a statement without any support or evidence because with so much public criticism and pressure on BP, BP must be trying very hard to fix the problem. Moreover, we are having oil leak deep under the sea with very high amount of oil spilling out every second. It is extremely hard, in the engineering standpoint, the stop the leakage in a very short period of time.

Obama and the U.S. government had stated that they were in charge of the leakage stopping operation, which means that BP is not the one that is making major decisions. Also, BP would be responsible for all the costs of capping, cleanup and paying for all the people, areas and institutions that were affected by the oil spill. Thus, if we come to think about it, it is unfair to put all the blame on BP. Of course, BP is responsible for the leakage. However, for the stopping process, success or failure totally depends on the U.S. government so the U.S. government should be responsible for the all the failures in stopping the oil leak. Nonetheless, as stated above, it is hard to fix such as big problem within a short period of time.