Well capping brings relief but fear of abandonment

[Frank Booth]

Source: AP

The gusher has finally been beaten back, and from 400 miles up government satellites assure that the oil in the Gulf of Mexico is disappearing. But Dave Marino only wishes he could put that kind of distance between himself and the Deepwater Horizon spill.

As northern breezes drove tides lower in the last few days, temperatures well into the 90s seemed to reliquify the sludge lodged in marshes near Marino's home of Myrtle Grove, La., releasing a steady, black drip from the high grasses. Walking on the beach at Isle Grand Terre, Marino looked back to see oil oozing from his footprints in the sand.

"There's still oil out here," says Marino, a firefighter who runs a charter fishing boat on the side. "It's all over the place. Not much has changed."

But with BP cautiously declaring its "static kill" a success in plugging the once-runaway well, and the Obama administration's claims that crews and nature had taken care of all but a quarter of the estimated 207 million gallons of crude that have poured from the blowout, Marino and others can already feel the nation's gaze turning away.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100808/ap_on_re_us/us_oil_spill_hopes_and_fears

[Rosa Luxemburg]

1. Why couldn't have BP plugged it like this in the first place?

why did they wait so long and yes this has the danger of being forgotten like the gulf after Katrina and Haiti.

[snooper2]

3. are you being serious?

After the 10,001 threads on this subject, thousands of articles, daily updates and continual media coverage?

[Fearless]

2. But the oil's gone!

:eyes:

[Lightning Count]

4. This will be just like Haiti.

The news coverage of Haiti fell off of a cliff.

[Baclava]

5. the well is plugged - that's good news, now for the final fix

From BP press release

Subsea operational update:

- The MC252 well has been shut-in since July 15; there is currently no oil flowing into the Gulf.
- The pressure testing following the cementing operations indicates we have an effective cement plug in the casing which was the desired outcome.
- The DDIII relief well is currently at 17909 ft and is preparing to drill ahead 30 ft followed by another ranging run. Intersection of the MC252 well annulus is expected towards the end of the week.


more weather delays?

Invest 94-L, Which May Develop In The Gulf of Mexico This Week:

Weak low pressure located about 110 miles east-southeast of St. Augustine, FL is currently interacting with an upper-level low pressure system located near the Bahamas. This system is currently designated Invest 94-L by the National Hurricane Center. High pressure pushing eastward will cause this low pressure system to track west-southwestward across central and south Florida today and no development is expected today or tonight due to the proximity to land, strong upper level winds and dry air.

Invest 94-L is expected to emerge into the eastern Gulf of Mexico during Tuesday. The big question right now is how far south and west will 94-L track over the next 24 to 36 hours. The further south and west this tracks and where exactly it emerges in the eastern Gulf of Mexico will dictate how strong it may get as it tracks across the Gulf of Mexico from later Tuesday through Thursday.


http://www.crownweather.com/?page_id=325