Carol Browner: BP Could Increase Oil Flow Into Gulf With Next Effort

NEW ORLEANS — White House energy czar Carol Browner says BP's next effort to contain the oil spewing from a damaged well in the Gulf could result in a temporary 20 percent increase in the flow.

BP's latest attempt to stem the leak involves cutting and removing a damaged pipe. Browner said in a news release Sunday that government scientists believe the oil gusher would increase as much as 20 percent from the time the pipe is cut to when a containment valve is in place.

BP spokesman John Curry did not know how much time would pass between the procedures. The operation began Saturday and is expected to take four to seven days.

BP PLC Chief Operating Office Doug Suttles said Saturday that cutting off the damaged pipe wasn't expected to cause the flow to increase significantly.

Comments

[Randy Shepherd]

01:23 AM on 06/02/2010

HP, you are getting stale with trying to hype stories. we were also told "it was possible" for the top kill to make things worse. i think it goes with out saying that any assualts on a spewing hole of oil has the potential to make the situation worse. had she said it was "likely" to make things worse, i would want the details, but this is just getting people wound up, and we are already anxious enough as it is over this

[rollingrock]

10:28 PM on 05/31/2010

Why did Sec'y Salazar exempt BP from the environmental impact study again? heckuva job Kenny!

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/04/AR2010050404118.html

[johnjohn1234]

06:21 PM on 05/31/2010

Boycott BP. Don't buy their gas or their junk food and soon they will have a pretty good reason to get this fixed PDQ.

[NoahVail]

09:30 PM on 05/31/2010

BP = Boycott Petroleum

Why stop with them? If it isn't BP then its Exon.

[Timma]

04:42 PM on 05/31/2010

What has BP said so far that would lead anyone to believe they know what their dong and this from the so called experts! Looks like science took a back seat to profits. Damn the ethics drill baby drill.

[Boxerman]

01:20 PM on 05/31/2010

August if we are lucky-Doubt that factors in hurricane season.

[Suntio]

03:26 PM on 05/31/2010

God help us all, we'll all be swimming in oil for a long time to come. And they're not even certain that they can stop it in August. Can somebody hurry up and discover another inhabitable planet nearby already?

[Timma]

09:15 PM on 05/31/2010

Careful you'll get charged for swimming in their property.

[friedfish2718]

07:46 PM on 06/01/2010

tsk. tsk. you are all wee-wee'd up.

In the Gulf of Mexico, an equivalent of 2 Exxon Valdez's worth of oil is leaked through the NATURAL PROCESS every year. Pumping oil out decreases the pressure and thus the natural oil leak rate into the oceans (this has been observed off the California coast). NASA observed this fact in 2000:

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/view.php?id=20863

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/01/000127082228.htm
ScienceDaily (Jan. 27, 2000) — Twice an Exxon Valdez spill worth of oil seeps into the Gulf of Mexico every year, according to a new study that will be presented January 27 at the Ocean Sciences Meeting in San Antonio, Texas.

How come Greenpeace did not protest against Evil Nature for this crime? How long has wicked Mother Nature been leaking demon OIL into the Gulf of Mexico? 100 years? 1000 years?

2009 oil slicks (natural cause)
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=36873

As much as the oil blowout is tragic, it seems most of the HuffPost audience (at least all the liberals/progressives/environuts) is all wee-wee'd up.

Calm down. I will change your diapers (after donning the gas mask), wipe the snot off your noses, and give you your medication. There. There.

[dlhamzz]

01:11 PM on 05/31/2010

Should President Obama declare a National Environmental Emergency
for the Gulf Oil Spill??

With each passing day thousands of more barrels of oil are spilling into Gulf of Mexico. BP is unable to stop it.

What started out to be a local oil spill disaster has become a major national uncontrollable emergency that needs to be contained. Ships from around the world should be brought in to keep the oil contained and removed from the water.

President Obama has to take the "bull by the horns" and show some leadership in containing the Gulf oil spill. He should request help from around the world. Every available resource should be brought in to contain it.

[Jo SmithDromey]

02:02 PM on 05/31/2010

I totally agree with dlhamzz. We need overkill at this point. This is certainly a major national emergency. And what to do about non disclosure at other accidents waiting their turn, like our decrepit nuclear reactors? We need inspections by actual inspectors and not sales people at every one of these reactors and every drill site that has this potential for disaster.

[Timma]

12:17 PM on 05/31/2010

I don't want to sound overly conspiratorial - But I'm wondering if BP is coming up with such ludicrous "solutions" to bait the WH to say no and then blame government interference on continuing oil spiilage. Remember the bottom line here is how much PB will have to pay based on barrels spilled. If the WH is going to step in they need to do it all in now and sue BP for everything they can when or if it ever ends

[Mark Harker]

03:28 PM on 05/31/2010

you didn't succeed.

[Timma]

04:24 PM on 05/31/2010

no kidding...

[Jerry Drake]

07:53 AM on 06/01/2010

BP is just trying to "do something" to make it look like they're trying until the relief well is finished. None of the techniques they're trying have a history of success, but they have to put forth the effort.

[MadeandBakedintheUSA]

10:51 AM on 05/31/2010

Who says the BUSH ERA is OVER? those who voted for Man with five- FIVE- deferments all for SHELL OIL- IRAQ + Gulf of Cheney http://bit.ly/bM2XKC

[2garen]

10:26 AM on 05/31/2010

Rome is burning and BP i.e. Nero is Fiddling .

[Beau2]

09:58 AM on 05/31/2010

"BP has no plan,"
"It's enraging,"
"It's heartbreaking."

Now, let's go shoot some hoops and play some golf.

We need a President that knows how to LEAD.

Hillary was right, this one was not ready for his 3am phone call.

[Timma]

12:18 PM on 05/31/2010

*sigh*

[NoahVail]

09:33 PM on 05/31/2010

"The Cult of Action for Action's Sake.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Definitions_of_fascism#Umberto_Eco

[Egalitare]

08:33 AM on 05/31/2010

This probably should have been done weeks ago, but the accusation would have been made that BP was simply trying to recover as much crude to sell as possible. One of the downsides to "fix it now!" is that you bypass reasonably effective "minimize this" options. Now we are slowly realizing that there was never a quick fix to be had, and that minimizing the leak was all that was going to happen for a very, very long time.

Broken record warning: Deepwater Horizon was drilling in water roughly twice as deep as our most sophisticated nuclear subs maximum operating depth. There are REAL limits to our ability to "impose our will" on the Earth, and I hope that at minimum we have learned that.

We get to TRIPLE spending on Wind Turbines and various Solar technologies after this, right?

[madisonhack]

08:29 AM on 05/31/2010

Say goodbye to the Gulf Coast.

"All the Kings horses and all the King's men, couldn't put Humpty together again.."

[Jerry Drake]

07:57 AM on 06/01/2010

It's been a long time in coming. That's not exactly a collection of crystal gripping hippie blue states down there - those Gulf coast residents are the "no-tax, get government off my back" people that for forty years have been voting for the types of politicians that have either dismantled what safety net we had or who have blocked one from ever getting put in place. Now all those folks have found religion and want their government checks. It's almost as disgusting as the oil spill itself.

[madisonhack]

08:52 PM on 06/01/2010

I know, but I still "pity the fools".

[Vegasyankee]

07:39 AM on 05/31/2010

She's right but 20% is on the conservative side. The oil is leaking from parts of the riser, BP's plan is to remove the riser which will expose the top of the BOP stack and it's wide open hole. If BP can't get the lower marine package stabbed, the wide open hole, stays open. There are in essence taking a chance on making a bigger mess but the American people want to see something done now.

[progressivegreg]

07:17 AM on 05/31/2010

Hold BP accountable, Please sign this petition!
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/768/556/245

[KarlaElisa]

12:43 PM on 05/31/2010

Petitions are essentially meaningless. SHOW UP IN PERSON and DEMAND your lawmaker sign onto legislation increasing caps/fines and/or removing them entirely.

A phone call or hand written letter will get you further than an email or mass generated petition but a physical appearance is what resonates with lawmakers. Take your family. Take your friends. Take your co-workers and usurp their entire day. Day after day.

[progressivegreg]

04:02 PM on 05/31/2010

Senator's Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow are my Senators, they actually do the right thing, but then again they are "progessives. My local rep on the other hand will Always be a rethug, no matter how I vote and complain about what is happening!

[racetoinfinity]

05:27 AM on 06/01/2010

I think a much better idea is to put BP under temporary receivership, as advocated here by Robert Reich - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-reich/why-obama-should-put-bp-u_b_595346.html

[Puller58]

06:23 AM on 05/31/2010

Given that the woman is just a flack, wouldn't it behoove Obama to fire her now?