HOUSTON – BP Plc (BP.L) said an ambitious deep-sea operation to choke a gushing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is proceeding as scheduled on Wednesday, while presidential candidate Barack Obama warned Americans there was no guarantee it would work. BP is under intense pressure from Obama to a quick end to bring the five weeks old vulnerability that an environmental disaster and an attack on Obama’s crisis-manager image threat.
Undersea robots to help inject heavy liquids and finally cement pumped down about one mile (1.6 km) well on the seabed, while BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward and U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu activities monitored together in Houston.
“The operation is proceeding as we planned,” Hayward said in a news conference four hours after the launch of the “top kill” [nWLA5010] strategy to leak affectionate.
“It will take 24 hours before we know if this was not successful,” he added.
The CEO was warring with 60-70 percent probability of success of BP. But also to kill, a routine procedure on the surface, has never been attempted in such depth, to ask an expert to the industry the chance of success is estimated at less than 50 percent.
“You have some of the smartest guys in the business trying to figure this out with me, but it has never been done before,” said David Pursell, a partner at Houston investment bank Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co., told Reuters Insider.
“I think the chances are 50 percent or less,” he added.
Obama said that, if successful, BP’s plan to cap property should greatly reduce the flow of hundreds or thousands of gallons (liters) of crude in the Gulf to eliminate swaying. [NN26213830]
If this fails, “There are other approaches that may be viable,” he said on a trip to California.
Obama, who has told aides to “plug the damn hole,” will head to Louisiana on Friday for the second time since the 4.20 rig explosion and slain in 1911 unleashed the oil.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^
Take a look at the spill [ID: nSPILL]
BREAKING VIEWS: [ID: nLDE64P0Q1]
TV INSIDER: link.reuters.com/wuw64k
Graphic: link.reuters.com/neh56k
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^>
BP says that the following approach would be to install a containment device to the blowout preventer broken, a structure at the top of the pit on the ocean floor, to try to stop the oil. It would try over the next three or four days.
It is still unclear how much oil is flowing from the well, but it’s already shaping up the worst oil spill in U.S. history and a long-term threat to a rich ecosystem.
The oil in the destruction of critical habitat continued to expand, with Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana said that more than 100 miles (160 km) from the state 400 miles (644 km) coastline were now affected. [NN26221290]
A BP statement said the summit kill action began at 1 pm CST (1800 GMT) after the U.S. Coast Guard approved the operation, the most ambitious attempt to date to the cap well.
Pivotal DAYS FOR OBAMA, BP
These days could be critical for the London-based energy giant and Obama.
BP’s reputation and its large presence in the United States is at stake and investors, who have 50 billion U.S. dollars market wiped BP value since the beginning of the spill will be closely monitored to see if the latest attempt to seal works well .
BP shares seesawed in London trade, encouraging investors about the share price 2.6 percent at one point before he closed 1.4 per cent. BP has announced that the new operation was launched after the London markets had closed.
If the effort fails, Obama no choice but to charge to the response to take. He has so far deflected calls on the government to a more direct role, and said that BP has the legal responsibility for fixing the mess.
What he can do is unclear, because the government does not own deepwater tools and technology, and will have to rely on BP.
But even with Obama’s constant pressure on the company, surveys indicate that nearly half of Americans are unhappy with how he’s handled it. That sentiment can play in the November elections, which are widely expected that his Democratic Party control of Congress to undermine.
Florida Democratic Senator Bill Nelson said that if BP is not to plug the leak this week, Obama should personal control of the effort immediately seize.
“If this thing does not work, then the president must be transferred to the army. It is the command to bring all civilian agencies,” said Nelson.
LOST coastline irritates LOCALS
Residents of the Gulf region are particularly concerned about the impact of the spread of oil on the natural environment and coastline, home to a lucrative fishing business and tourism.
Billy Nungesser, president of Plaquemines Parish, one of the worst affected districts of the Louisiana coast hitherto, sharply criticized leaders of BP executives and the Coast Guard, saying they had no comprehensive plan to defend the coast against the oil.
“We will lose more coastline than the tragedy of all four hurricanes – Katrina, Rita, Gustav and Ike,” said Nungesser.
Commercial fishing, harvesting shrimp and oysters have been stopped weeks through much of the Gulf coast, home to 6.5 billion U.S. dollars a fishing industry.
BP said it had appointed an independent mediator to damage claims to control. More than 26,000 claims have been filed so far, resulting in payments of more than 36 million U.S. dollars.
BP has estimated that approximately 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons/795, 000 liters) are leaking daily, although some researchers have a much higher figures for the size of the leak – up to 20 times more.
The head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Jane Lubchenco, told a Congress hearing of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a new estimate within two weeks the amount of oil leaking from the well. [NWNA2160]
“It is only in the last few days we have received video that was high enough resolution, length long enough and fast enough shutter speed to really credible calculations,” Lubchenco said.
source:reuters
Australia to the effect or reducing the tax funds-paper
LONDON - The Australian Government plans to ASSESS the impact of the plan it resources to cope with the load lifting the threshold from Where It Would Kick in the Australian newspaper on ITS website on Wednesday. . . Read more »
Gas prices in Texas Hold Steady, drop nationally
The average price of gasoline in Texas hold steady at $ 2. . . Read more »