[Updated: 11:00 AM Eastern Time]
Late Wednesday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) revised its estimate of the oil leaking in the Gulf of Mexico from 1,000 to 5,000 barrels per day (210,000 gallons per day).
The potential disaster has escalated so rapidly that this morning, BP PLC’s chief operating officer indicated that the company would welcome help from anyone, including the US military. Today’s statement stands in sharp contrast to statements made by the company late yesterday, disputing NOAA’s revised estimate and denying that the situation was more than BP could handle.
The new estimate comes as oil rising to the surface has created an oil slick roughly the size of Delaware that could reach the shores of Louisiana as early as Friday. Forecasts of sustained high winds from the southeast and lasting through the weekend suggest that oil could continue moving into the fragile Mississippi River delta.
The delta region typically loses about 35 square miles of coastal wetlands each year due to erosion; if the spill reaches shore, it is expected to kill marshland grasses and exacerbate loss due to erosion.
As of yesterday, 100.000 feet of protective booms had been deployed to protect the delta region, with another 500,000 feet on standby. Louisiana Governor, Bobby Jindal, has already called for Federal help in battling the approaching slick and subsequent cleanup.
A variety of approaches are being brought to bear in order to contain the spill on the surface, while ongoing efforts attempt to stop the leak at its source 5,000 feet below the surface.
Late Wednesday, officials conducted a controlled burn of surface oil corralled within fireproof booms, which they deemed to be successful. Burning leaves behind a crusty residue that is more easily collected, but releases a toxic cloud that can rise 2,000 feet or more. How effective burning will be in reducing the amount of surface oil remains unknown given the particular type of oil being released and the fact that 97 percent of the slick is water.
Remote controlled, underwater robots have thus far been unable to close valves that would stop the flow of oil. Where two leaks had been previously identified in the broken pipe leading from the Gulf floor to the surface, there now appears to be a third, located closer to the source and probably new.
Meanwhile, engineers are constructing a huge, underwater dome intended to capture oil at the leak’s source, and then pump it safely through new lines to the surface. The method has proven successful in shallow waters, but has never been tried in waters as deep as the current leak — and would take 3 or 4 weeks to become operational.
Another option involves drilling relief wells near the current leak, then stopping the flow by pumping in concrete or mud. Drilling rigs are currently en route, but the approach would require months.
As the oil slick moves landward, plans are also being laid to mitigate damage to coastal wildlife, including the use of water cannons to scare off birds. Local shrimping boats may also be employed to skim oil from the surface as the slick approaches shallow waters near the coast.
Shorelines and coastal habitats in four states — Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida LA, MS, AL — are potentially at risk and are being evaluated should oil from the incident make landfall in appreciable quantities.
One-hundred twenty-six people were aboard the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig when the initial explosion occurred on April 20, approximately 40 miles from the Louisiana coastline. Seventeen were injured, three of them critically, and eleven remain unaccounted for.
When the Deepwater Horizon sank on April 22, the BP and the US Coast Guard stated that no oil appeared to be leaking from the exploratory wellhead.
