BP's Spewing Oil Has a New Cap

Gulf Coast residents are trying not to get their hopes up too high. After all, there have been many failed attempts in the last 82 days while trying to cap BP's spewing oil in the Gulf of Mexico.

BP has confirmed that an 18-foot-high, 150,000 pound metal cap was successfully attached on Monday, July 12 to stop the spewing oil. There will still be multiple tests and monitoring of the equipment to determine if the cap is completely successful.

Estimates are that 60,000 to 80,000 barrels of BP's oil per day have been spewing into the Gulf of Mexico creating the largest oil disaster in US history and wreaking havoc on the Gulf Coast's fishing and tourism industries. The disaster began with the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon on April 20, 2010, which took the lives of eleven workers.

Currently, BP has the capacity to collect about 8,000 barrels a day of the spewing oil. Additional oil is collected by skimmer boats on the surface, but much of the oil has washed ashore in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and recently in Texas, creating an environmental nightmare for Gulf Coast residents. With the new cap in place, BP intends to increase their capacity for capturing the oil to 60,000 to 80,000 barrels per day by late July. The newly installed cap, if completely successful, will allow BP to funnel most of the spewing oil to the surface where it will be captured by surface vessels.

BP's oil cap is not the final solution

Relief wells are still being drilled for a permanent solution to the spewing oil.

NY Times reporter Henry Fountain reports: "Mr. Suttles (of BP) said the first relief well was now only about five feet away horizontally from the runaway well. But it is still perhaps 150 feet above the interception point, and the drilling at this point is very slow. He reiterated that the planned procedure to stop the leak for good - by pumping heavy mud down the relief well - would probably not occur until the end of the month at the earliest. The mud would be followed by cement to entomb the well permanently."

Read full story here: Tests to Determine if Cap Will Halt Oil by Henry Fountain

Mixed Emotions About the new BP Oil Cap

Gulf Coast residents have mixed emotions about the cap, the spill, and the response from BP and the federal government. Although pleased about the possibility of progress in capping the well, there are still many questions about the oil still floating in the gulf and the continuation of clean up efforts.

An Associated Press report says:

"Gulf residents closely watched the operation, knowing the damage already done to the biologically rich Gulf and the coast's two leading industries, fishing and tourism.

"I think we're going to see oil out in the Gulf of Mexico, roaming around, taking shots at us, for the next year, maybe two," said Billy Nungesser, president of Louisiana's oil-stained Plaquemines Parish. "If you told me today no more oil was coming ashore, we've still got a massive cleanup ahead."

BP "can't do much, but they know how to drill wells," dock master Jimmy Beason said at a marina in Orange Beach, Ala. "I think that by the end of the month it will be stopped, and this work with the cap is part of it. I see the light at the end of the tunnel."

As of Monday, between 89 million and 176 million gallons of oil had poured into the Gulf, according to government estimates."

Read full story here: BP Lowers New Cap on Busted Well in Latest Attempt to Stop Gushing Oil

Gulf Coast residents still have questions about the federal government's response to BP's spewing oil.

When learning of the new cap in place, commercial fisherman's wife, Donna Tryon of Gulf Breeze, FL said, "It's about time, but I still have questions. What about the skimmers? Where have they been for the past 82 days?" (Read more here.)

Tryon's statement reflects that of many Gulf Coast residents unhappy with the federal government's failure to protect inland waterways and sensitive marshland and estuaries along the gulf coast. Many believe the federal government simply got in the way of protection and clean-up efforts.

While many residents are just as angry at BP for the spill, there is a hint that BP is doing the right thing when presented with valid claims with supporting documentation. Tryon states, "Within ten days of submitting the claim, my husband's commercial fishing business was paid what he was due for the month of June and we expect the same for the month of July." Tryon stressed that her experience leads her to believe that BP will do the right thing for commercial fishermen submitting valid claims with supporting documentation and evidence of financial loss.

Palin suggests "Less Golf - More Gulf"

When discussing Barack Obama's many vacations and leisure activities during the 82 days of the Gulf oil disaster, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin stated on Fox New's Hannity, "The American people would like to see a lot less golf and more gulf." Palin accurately sums up the frustration of many gulf coast residents who believe this disaster didn't have to be as bad as it is. Better leadership and a more coordinated response could have prevented much of the damage to the environment, and the fishing and tourism industries of the gulf coast.

Online sources:

http://www.sarahpac.com/

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/13/us/13cap.html?src=mv

Tests to Determine if Cap Will Halt Oil Henry Fountain by Henry Fountain

BP Lowers New Cap on Busted Well in Latest Attempt to Stop Gushing Oil

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/07/12/bp-robots-assemble-undersea-oil-cap-gulf-coast-residents-watch-warily/

Published July 12, 2010 Associated Press