Gulf Oil Spill: Coast Guard Warned Large Leak Possible, Logs Show

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Newly disclosed Coast Guard documents warned that 336,000 gallons per day of oil could spew into the Gulf of Mexico if an underwater well had a complete blowout.

Coast Guard logs show the prediction came a day after a rig exploded on April 20, triggering the worst oil spill in the nation's history from that well.

The well didn't have such a failure. But the volume turned out to be much closer to that figure than the 42,000 gallons per day that BP first estimated. Weeks later that was revised to 210,000 gallons.

Now, an estimated 500,000 to 1 million gallons of crude is believed to be leaking daily.

The Center for Public Integrity initially reported the Coast Guard logs. It says it obtained them from a ranking Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Comments

[Write4U]

04:14 PM on 06/07/2010

To anyone interested in determining how much oil is spilled per day.....listen close!!!!!!
How much oil was being pumped out of this well before the break occurred?
Whatever this figure is..it is how much oil is being spilled. Simple...!!!!!!!!

[Martin Musetsky]

02:28 PM on 06/05/2010

Live video feed from all cameras on the sea floor: http://climate.the-environmentalist.org/2010/06/live-video-feeds-of-gulf-oil-disaster.html

[Gilliam G]

07:32 AM on 06/05/2010

Playing the blame game helps nobody and is unproductive.

I have partnered with Global Green USA to help raise money for their Gulf Coast Relief and Cleanup Efforts. I compiled 6 songs for them including Drill Baby Drill and a new changed version of Cry For The Fishermen + 4 others.

To hear these songs and find out more about Global Green USA go here and if you like please consider a donation. Individual tracks are also donated if you like just one. 100% of proceeds goes to Global Green USA. Every little bit helps:

http://gilsmusic.bandcamp.com

[Room007]

09:01 AM on 06/04/2010

Figures and Obama sat and held a meeting in the Oval Office instead of making sure LA had booms and skimmers to keep as much off the coast as he could.

[manicmarkus]

09:05 AM on 06/04/2010

Do you guys read or watch the news at all? Obama's administration is the only reason the fisherman and helpers have Booms and skimmers. BP was fighting with the help on whether or not they were going to pay for the booms...and they residents couldn't afford them on their own. So Obama said, "Hey BP, you're paying for those right now..." and they did. Thanks Mr. President. No, he's not flying down to the leak and stopping it up using some alien material he created in a flash...things don't work that way.

[Pumpsie]

09:34 AM on 06/04/2010

Too little, too late. The North American operations of BP should be in receivership until the spill is contained and cleaned up. Where's the real leadership there? Again, Obama shows sheer cowardice in opposing big business. He caved to the health insurance industry, he's caved to Wall Street many times, and now this. He may as well wear corporate sponsor patches, like race car drivers do, on his clothes.

[lennapae]

09:12 AM on 06/04/2010

The President is useless.

[lennapae]

09:01 AM on 06/04/2010

So why wasn't the Obama Administration listening? Criminal!

[Hansy Peguero]

10:30 AM on 06/04/2010

"Coast Guard logs show the prediction came a day after a rig exploded on April 20." Do you people read?? I had my doubts but thanks for confirming.