Seep in Gulf Likely Not Tied to Well, Officials Say

[Scurrilous]

<snip>

"A seep that is possibly letting methane into the Gulf of Mexico is apparently not connected to BP’s oil well, and it may be occurring naturally, officials said Monday.

The government had ordered BP to step up monitoring of the well after “undetermined anomalies” were discovered on the seafloor nearby. The government’s top official in the Gulf response, retired Coast Guard admiral Thad W. Allen, said that government scientists had talked late Sunday with BP about the seep and the possible detection of methane around the well.

Officials had worried that the seep — usually a flow of hydrocarbons from the seafloor — could have been evidence that oil, gas or both were escaping from the well up to the seafloor, forcing the government to order BP to remove the cap and resume oil collection.

But seeps also occur naturally, and in a briefing for reporters Monday afternoon, BP said that government and company scientists were coming to the conclusion that the seep was probably of natural origin and unrelated to the well."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/20/us/20oilspill.html

[DCBob]

1. DUers wont like this story.. too much good news..

it will be unrec'd.

[mhatrw]

6. BP: Good News You Can Count On!

[babylonsister]

2. Thanks! nt

[liberal N proud]

3. Officials?

Sorry, but I will hold my enthusiasm as misinformation has abounded throughout this whole ordeal.

I will take a wait and see attitude on this.

[HughMoran]

7. On Olbermann they showed that the leak was 1.83 miles from the well

...and there was little cynicism about the likelihood that the gas leak was indeed natural. Not definitive, but they also claim pressure is still rising in the well and thus the cap stays on. I dunno.

[DCBob]

4. FYI.. some general info on natural seeps..

http://geology.com/nasa/oil-seeps/
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=unlike-bps-natural-oil-seeps
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/01/000127082228.htm

[mhatrw]

8. Of course it's just a natural seep. Why would BP lie about something like this?

Especially considering how our big bad government keeps bullying poor BP into submission about accurately measuring the leak, hiring enough people to deploy and actively manage multiple layers of booms, and using fewer and safer dispersants.

[DCBob]

9. Nobody trusts BP, but it would be illogical for them to risk a seafloor gusher.

That would essentially be the final straw and BP would be finished as a company.

[mhatrw]

10. It would be illogical for them to dump millions of gallons of dispersant on the problem.

It was illogical for them to wait until 85 days later to fit the well with a blowout preventer.

It is illogical for them to not have done everything possible to boom and collect the oil.

It is illogical for them to consider a static kill attempt just as the relief wells are about to reach the damaged well.

It was illogical for them to say, "Don't worry. It's a big ocean."

It is illogical for them to prevent the clean up workers from wearing hazmat masks.

Just saying ...

[DCBob]

11. This is different by orders of magnitude.. but clearly you have your mind already made up.

I am wasting my time. Have a good night.

[mhatrw]

13. I do not have my mind made up.

I have no idea whether BP's incompetence and total disregard for the environment has been purposeful.

I'm still hoping for the best, but being confident in BP's decisions about this well right now is like being confident in Lehman Brothers' investment strategies two years ago.

[Karenina]

17. Whatever happened to that old canard, 'Err on the side of SAFETY?'

:shrug:

[LisaL]

14. It would also be illogical for them to do the things that could have lead

to the well blowing up in the first place, wouldn't you say?

[dionysus]

12. jesus christ, we know they lie... this would be a smidge too large to lie their way out of.

[tkmorris]

15. Well sure, if they were caught doing so.

But, who exactly would disprove their conclusion that the seep is unrelated? No one else aside from the US Government really has the ability to prove otherwise, and I am not sure they have any desire to try.

[dionysus]

16. i'm sure if a rupture of this kind happened that near the well, no one would believe any excuses.

it would make the current castrophe look like paddy cake. i hope the hell it doesn't turn out that way.

[DCBob]

18. If this seep related to the well then they have very serious problems which could result...

in a seafloor gusher or at least a major leak. If that happened, the oil would begin rising to the surface... and that would be a bit hard to lie around. Even BP can figure this out.

[spanone]

5. verify.

[DCBob]

19. BP may use "static kill" technique to plug the well.

from CNN..

As tests continue Tuesday on BP's ruptured oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, scientists are weighing a new option for permanently sealing it. The "static kill" would involve pumping mud into the well to force oil back into the reservoir below, officials from BP said Monday, noting that the option could succeed where other similar attempts have failed because pressure in the well is lower than expected. BP Senior Vice President Kent Wells told reporters Monday that the idea was still "very much in its infancy," but that a decision could be made in several days.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/07/20/gulf.oil.disaster/index.html?hpt=T2

I am all for this if it plugs the well sooner.. and if there is low risk of making the problem worse.