Frugal Café Blog Zone

Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on May 16, 2010

NOAA Map of devastating Gulf of Mexico oil spill off US coast

Finally, some promising news is coming from the Gulf of Mexico about the British Petroleum oil leak.

I’m not yet sighing that big sigh of relief I desperately want to emit. But this “promising” report is the best news I’ve read to date — I’m holding off on the “woo hoo’s!” for a bit until more information is released. But things are looking up.

To our fellow Americans along the oil-covered Gulf Coast… God bless you all and you are still in our prayers.

Our ever-concerned POTUS, on the other hand, shot some hoops…

From FOX News, BP’s Latest Attempt to Siphon Oil From Gulf Is Successful, Executives Say:

In a major step toward containing a massive Gulf of Mexico oil leak, BP said a mile-long (1.6-kilometer-long) tube was funneling crude Sunday from a blown well to a tanker ship after three days of wrestling to get the stopgap measure into place on the seafloor.

The contraption was hooked up successfully and sucking oil from a pipe at the blown well Sunday afternoon after being hindered by several setbacks. Engineers remotely guiding robot submersibles had worked since Friday to place the tube into a 21-inch (53-centimeter) pipe nearly a mile (1.6 kilometers) below the sea.

Kent Wells, BP’s senior vice president for exploration and production, said during a news conference that the amount being drawn was gradually increasing, and it would take several days to measure it. Company spokesman Mark Proegler at the joint spill command center in Louisiana had initially said the tube was containing most of the oil coming from the pipe, which is contributing an estimated 85 percent of the crude in the spill.

In a statement Sunday, BP said that the tube was “successfully tested and inserted into the leaking riser, capturing some amounts of oil and gas.”

“While not collecting all of the leaking oil, this tool is an important step in reducing the amount of oil being released into Gulf waters,” BP said.

In a major step toward containing a massive Gulf of Mexico oil leak, BP said a mile-long (1.6-kilometer-long) tube was funneling crude Sunday from a blown well to a tanker ship after three days of wrestling to get the stopgap measure into place on the seafloor.

The contraption was hooked up successfully and sucking oil from a pipe at the blown well Sunday afternoon after being hindered by several setbacks. Engineers remotely guiding robot submersibles had worked since Friday to place the tube into a 21-inch (53-centimeter) pipe nearly a mile (1.6 kilometers) below the sea.

Kent Wells, BP’s senior vice president for exploration and production, said during a news conference that the amount being drawn was gradually increasing, and it would take several days to measure it. Company spokesman Mark Proegler at the joint spill command center in Louisiana had initially said the tube was containing most of the oil coming from the pipe, which is contributing an estimated 85 percent of the crude in the spill.

Previous attempts to use emergency valves and a 100-ton container had failed to stop the leak that has spilled millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf, threatening sea life, commercial fishing and the coastal tourism industry from Louisiana to Florida. BP PLC has also been burning small amounts of floating oil and spraying chemical dispersants above and below the surface.

The tube’s success gave crews partial control of the leak for the first time in more than three weeks. Oil has been spewing since the rig Deepwater Horizon exploded April 20, killing 11 people and sinking two days later. The government shortly afterward estimated the spill at 210,000 gallons (795,000 liters) — or 5,000 barrels — a day, a figure that has since been questioned by some scientists who fear it could be far more. BP executives have stood by the estimate while acknowledging there’s no way to know for sure.

Other related oil spill videos… h/t to Jim at Gateway Pundit for this intriguing video on cleaning up the oil that has covered the southern US coastline… Southern Hicks Hired to Clean Up Gulf Spill With Hay (Video):

CWRoberts Presentation 2

From Associated Press, video synopsis:

May 15, 2010 — Workers in Louisiana were busy Saturday trying to scrub oil off of a bird. The rescue center has seen a number of wildlife that have been brought in covered in oil due to the spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

AP: Raw Video: Cleaning a Bird Covered in Oil

Related:
Michelle Malkin: No wonder finger-pointing Obama wants oil spill finger-pointing to stop
The Powers That Be: Obama’s Tireless Efforts On the Basketball Court and Golf Course Cause BP to Successfully Insert New Pipe to Siphon Oil to Surface and Obama’s Teleprompter Expected to Tell Him to Get Pissed Today
Gateway Pundit: Thick Blobs of Tar Begin Washing Up on Alabama Shore – Obama Goes Golfing and Leaked Report From April 28 Shows US Government Believed Gulf Spill Could Become “Unchecked Gusher” and More Hope & Change… Obama Interior Chief Went White-Water Rafting While Oil Slick Spread and It Begins… GOP Reps Call for Investigation into Obama Administration’s Slow and Weak Response to BP Gulf Oil Spill and Obama Takes Break From Campaigning… Visits Oil Slick Disaster 12 Days Late
Frugal Café Blog ‘Zone: How Does White Water Rafting at the Grand Canyon Help Control Gulf Oil Spill Disaster? Interior Chief Tom Strickland Says Vacation Was “Work-Focused” and Big Oil $$ Bonanza: Obama Raked in Millions from BP Over Last 2 Decades, LA Sen. Landrieu Also Rec’d BP Money, Investigation into Obama’s Slow Response to Oil Crisis and You Knew This Would Happen: Libs Blame GW Bush for Gulf Oil Spill Disaster, Obama Blameless & Praised (audio-video) and Rush Limbaugh on “Obama’s Katrina”: Timeline of Obama Not Taking Swift Action to Contain the Gulf Oil Spill
Mcnorman’s Weblog: They Knew How Bad This Oil Slick Could Be
Doug Powers, Michelle Malkin: Obama’s Tireless Efforts On the Basketball Court and Golf Course Cause BP to Successfully Insert New Pipe to Siphon Oil to Surface
HillBuzz: Question: How can the White House and Democrats at large manage and dictate your healthcare if they can’t come up with an effective strategy for handling an oil spill?
Amused Cynic: Congress is holding hearings on the wrong gusher…
Patterico’s Pontifications: Obama’s Donors
The Lonely Conservative: Oil Slick Spread While Obama’s Secretary of the Interior was White Water Rafting
ABC News: While Oil Slick Spread, Interior Department Chief of Staff Rafted with Wife on “Work-Focused” Trip in Grand Canyon
Politico: Obama biggest recipient of BP cash
Another Black Conservative: Obama is the biggest recipient of BP cash in 20 years
GayPatriot: Our Big Oil President
Brian Sussman, American Thinker: Taking Advantage of an Oil Crisis
Riehl World View: Milbank: “Exquisite” That Oil Spill Impacts Red States
Legal Insurrection: “Limited Federal Government = No Government” (or something like that)
New York Times: U.S. Missed Chances to Act on Oil Spill

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