BP's "Top Kill" Fails to Stop Oil Leak

BP halted their “Top Kill” operation Saturday, citing problems with the procedure.

The procedure was intended to stem the flow of oil and gas and ultimately kill the well by injecting heavy drilling fluids through the blow-out preventer on the seabed, down into the well.

Despite pumping a total of over 30,000 barrels of heavy mud, in three attempts at rates of up to 80 barrels a minute, and deploying a wide range of different bridging materials, the operation did not overcome the flow from the well, BP said in a news release.

BP is to move to the next step in the subsea operations, the deployment of the Lower Marine Riser Package (LMRP) Cap Containment System.

The operational plan first involves cutting and then removing the damaged riser from the top of the failed Blow-Out Preventer (BOP) to leave a cleanly-cut pipe at the top of the BOP’s LMRP. The cap is designed to be connected to a riser from a drillship and placed over the LMRP with the intention of capturing most of the oil and gas flowing from the well.

The LMRP cap is already on site and should be connected in about four days, BP officials said.

This operation has not been previously carried out in 5,000 feet of water and the successful deployment of the containment system cannot be assured, BP said.

Meanwhile, NOAA trajectory forecasts continue to show oil sheen and tar balls staying well away from the Florida Keys.

The Monday, May 31, models show the southern edge of the sheen positioned about 265 miles west of Key West.

No oil-related impacts to the Keys are forecast for at least the next 72 hours, Billy Causey, superintendent of the southeast region for NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuaries, said early Saturday evening.

Rush Limbaugh Offers Advice on Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico

We're saved! Rush Limbaugh has figured out a way to fix the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. His solution is to do... nothing. Mr. Limbaugh offered his advice on his recent radio broadcast “The ocean will take care of this on its own if it was left alone and left out there. It’s natural. It’s as natural as the ocean water is.”

NOAA Observations Indicate Small Portion of Light Oil Sheen Has Entered the Loop Current

KEYS TOURISM ADVISORY 15       May 19, 2010 • 5:30 PM

News and Information From the Monroe County Tourist Development Council

NOAA Observations Indicate Small Portion of Light Oil Sheen Has Entered the Loop Current

Loss-of-Business Resources Available

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Wednesday afternoon that their latest observations indicate a small portion of the Transocean/BP spill’s oil slick has reached the Loop Current in the form of light to very light sheens.

In the time it would take for this oil to travel to the vicinity of the Florida Straits, it would be highly weathered and both the natural process of evaporation and application of dispersants would reduce the oil volume significantly, NOAA officials said.

NOAA said the oil may get caught in a clockwise eddy in the middle of the Gulf, and not be carried to the Florida Straits at all.

Oil entrained in the Loop Current would require persistent onshore winds or an eddy on the edge of the Loop Current for it to reach the Florida shoreline. If this were to occur, the weathered and diluted oil would likely appear in isolated locations in the form of tar balls.

Earlier Wednesday, the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed that tests on tar balls found Monday and Tuesday on Key West’s Fort Zachary Taylor State Park beach and other areas of the Lower Keys and the Dry Tortugas were not from the Transocean/BP oil spill.

However, there was intensive news coverage and a number of news stories prematurely and erroneously concluded the tar balls were from the Gulf oil spill. Even though most media outlets have updated their news stories, calls to Keys visitor centers as well as vacation reservations cancellations increased.
Information regarding loss-of-business claims (including an online claim form) from BP and applying for federal assistance is available at http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/doc/2931/542307. BP’s claims hotline is 1-800-440-0858.

At its meeting Wednesday, the Monroe County Commission passed a resolution to ask Florida Gov. Charlie Crist to declare a state of emergency for Monroe County in order to qualify for federal assistance and small business loans.