The Gulf Oil Spill: Cautious Optimism

So the newest cap solution has been reported to have completely stopped the oil spill for the time being.  However, this is not a permanent stop or solution but it is definitely a step in the right direction after 87 into the largest environmental catastrophy in US history.  This spill ranks #1 for worst oil spills with the exception of a spill that was deliberately set in the Persian Gulf during the first gulf war in order to prevent US troops from coming ashore in Iraq.

I don't know about you but I have my fingers crossed.

BBC
MSNBC

The Gulf Oil Spill: Relief Well Drilling

So...this is a graphic portrayal of the relief well and drilling components. For a full article and a better image, see (IMAGE, ARTICLE)  This is the solution for stopping the run away oil spill, lets just hope it works.  The well drilling and capping is still scheduled to take place sometime near the beginning of August even though its estimated to be ahead of schedule.

Cleanup Update:

A new oil collection vessel 'A Whale' has been brought to the Gulf and is being tested for its oil collection capabilities. This ship has the capacity, best case scenario, to skim up to 300,000 barrels of oil a day from the waters surface.(LINK)  Otherwise, the 2 existing rigs and the containment cap are collecting approximately 25,000 gallons a day from the well, while an estimated 60,000 gallons a day is being released.  In the coming days BP estimates that it will be able to upgrade its containment cap solution, by adding a third vessel to collect oil, to recover as much as 53,000 gallons a day.(LINK)  It takes a lot of time, it turns out, to hook up a hose to the ports on a containment cap thats been sitting over the well for weeks now. 

Spill Migration:

Oil has now been found on a few Texas beaches, that means the oil spill has come ashore on all 5 gulf states.  Further, the rough weather has pushed oil into  Lake Pontchartrain located north of New Orleans.  This is sad for many reasons but mainly due to the fact that this was a lake that used to be fished and utilized then experienced significant pollution and was eventually closed. However, the Lake was restored over the last 20 years, where it eventually returned to being a productive fishing area, one of the last ones left in the Louisiana area in the wake of the oil spill.  Apparently it was not so lucky. (NYT, AP)

Economic Implications:

Amidst all of the spill problems, BP is putting a rather large spill mitigation effort forward.  This spill could cause the company to be bought out, meaning no more BP.  BP has spent nearly $4 billion on this situation in the last 77 days, and their stock has plummeted to half its previous value.  They have agreed to put $20 billion into an escrow account for cleanup costs, and estimates are still greater for what they will ultimately be on the hook for. (LINK)  I guess we will just have to wait and see how this plays out. This spill has been very unfortunate for the gulf states, the fishermen, the wildlife affected, the independent gas station owners and basically the entire region with implications spanning years into the future. Apparently, the same holds true for BP based on the fallout from this catastrophe.  At least they claim to be willing to pay claims to all affected parties at this point.  I guess in the light of this we will see if BP stands for bottomless pockets, instead of whatever its supposed to mean now a days.