Gulf Oil Spill Facts, Figures and Myths

The Deepwater Horizon / BP oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico is now in its 55^th day. In that eight weeks, some facts, figures and myths have been talked about or ignored by many in the media and on the Internet.

As of Sunday, June 13 2010, the Unified Incident Command (UIC) is reporting the following:

"2.3 million feet of containment boom and 3.1 million feet of sorbent boom have been deployed" That calculates to be 435.6 miles of containment boom and 587.1 miles of sorbent boom. 1,022 miles of boom have been deployed. The containment boom deployed would reach from Richmond, Virginia to Boston, Massachusetts or from San Diego to San Francisco, California. The sorbent boom deployed would reach from New York City to Columbus, Ohio.

"19.9 million gallons of an oil-water mix have been recovered" The Incident Commander, Admiral Allen recently stated that between 10-15% of this mix, from skimming operations, is recoverable oil. That works out to be between 1.99 million gallons of crude oil and 2.985 million gallons.

"More than 178 controlled burns have been conducted, efficiently removing a total of more than 4 million gallons of oil"

"68.2 miles of Gulf Coast shoreline has been impacted by BP's leaking oil-34.8 miles in Louisiana, 10.8 miles in Mississippi, 7.2 miles in Alabama and 8.7 miles in Florida "

"1.26 million gallons of total dispersant have been deployed-833,000 on the surface and 382,000 subsea"

BP is reporting, as of June 13 2010, "Total oil collected since the LMRP Cap containment system was implemented is approximately 134,500 barrels." Also reported "A further approximately 22,000 barrels of oil previously had been collected through use of the Riser Insertion Tube Tool and stored in the Discoverer Enterprise."

Oil is measured in barrels. There are 42 gallons of crude oil to a barrel.

The Federal Government has been actively trying to estimate the flow rate from the leak. The latest estimate, released June 8 2010, suggests a release of between 15,000 and 40,000 barrels per day. For Day 55, this would suggest a total release of 825,000 to 2.2 million barrels of crude oil to date.

Here are the results of collection efforts in both gallons and barrels.

Skimming: between 1.99 million gallons of crude oil and 2.985 million gallons, 47,381 barrels to 71,071 barrels

Controlled burns: 4 million gallons, 95,238 barrels

Riser Insertion Tube: 924,000 gallons, 22,000 barrels

LMRP cap: 5.649 million gallons, 134,500 barrels

TOTAL COLLECTED: 12.6 million gallons to 13.6 million gallons, 299,100 barrels to 322,800 barrels

MYTHS

Oil boom sitting in a Maine warehouse:Packgen of Auburn, Maine, has promoted itself extensively in the media and on the Internet as having oil containment boom available in its warehouse. The claim is that BP and the Unified Incident Command are uninterested. As reported by America's North Shore Journal and many others, the UIC states that the boom failed testing. Packgen reportedly have about 80,000 feet in storage, 15 miles of boom. The UIC reports that they currently have 85 miles of boom already on hand and ready for deployment.

Oil tankers can suck up the spill: The UIC has provided a detailed FAQ on this topic. The simplest answer is that the area is too congested and the waters too shallow for super tankers, and the conversion would take time.

No fishing is allowed in the Gulf because of the spill: The Federal Government, through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service controls fishing in U.S. territorial waters beyond the jurisdiction of the various states. Only 32% of those waters are restricted for fishing at this time. NOAA makes adjustments to these areas almost daily.

The following websites provide current information about the Deepwater Horizon / BP oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico.

Unified Command for the BP Oil Spill - This is the Federal Government's main website for their activity concerning the spill.

BP: Gulf of Mexico Response - This is BP's website aggregating all the information that they are providing on the spill and their work to contain it.

Department of Energy: Deepwater Horizon Response - The is the DOE data site on the disaster. It has a wide variety of plans and diagrams, as well as data, from the original well to all of the attempts to contain the leak.

Centers for Disease Control: 2010 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill - The CDC has created this website to hold a great deal of medical and health information about the spill, the chemicals involved and the potential for human injury or illness.

NOAA: Deepwater Horizon Incident, Gulf of Mexico - The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's website for all their work in the Gulf. Maps, projected slick movements, fisheries impacts and lots of other information.

GeoPlatform.gov/gulfresponse - This is a new site, using mapping technology to show all of the Gulf response activity in near real time.