75% of oil is...gone?
Spinning madly, the US Gov and BP just reported that between 50 - 75% of the (low ball estimated) 4.9M barrels of oil spewed into the gulf is "gone".
"Its all over, move along, nothing to see here!"
Spinning madly, the US Gov and BP just reported that between 50 - 75% of the (low ball estimated) 4.9M barrels of oil spewed into the gulf is "gone".
http://www.reuters.com/...
"Its all over, move along, nothing to see here!"
Oceanographer Charles S. Hopkinson, Professor and Georgia Sea Grant College Program Director
http://www.marsci.uga.edu/...
had another take in a BBC Radio interview today, stating the report really means they can only account for 10% of the total oil, not that 90% is "gone".
Read actual report here:
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/...
a direct quote: "Dissolution is different from dispersion. Dissolution is the process by which individual hydrocarbon molecules from the oil separate and dissolve into the water just as sugar can be dissolved in water. Dispersion is the process by which larger volumes of oil are broken down into smaller droplets of oil."
And dispersed doesn't mean "gone" or even "dealt with"
BP's reported use of dispersant subsea now totals 721,000 gallons, by July 12th when they stopped updating their response timeline. Their same reporting includes almost 1M gallons of Corexit which disappeared from their stock without any report of its application. So either they sold it on Ebay or used it somewhere "low profile" like subsea. That amout of Corexit subsea would hide a whole lot of oil...
How much? Well at the suggested Corexit to oil ratio between 1:10 - 1:50
http://www.epa.gov/...
1.7M gallons of Corexit would "disperse" (i.e. hide) between 400,000 - 2.5M barrels of oil, out of sight out of mind.
Two predictions; BP will push to lowball total oil numbers, perhaps only acknowledging the 10% that is "known" thus minimizing their potential fine. And BP and the Gov. will push for the relationship: lost oil = harmless. Eat up that shrimp! Smells good to me!