A government panel of scientists released findings on Thursday saying that before the stricken well’s riser pipe was cut on June 3 ... crude oil was being released at a rate of 25,000 to 30,000 barrels a day. That range was a substantial increase from the panel’s previous estimate of 12,000 to 19,000 barrels daily, which in turn far exceeded the early 5,000-barrel figure that the Coast Guard proposed, and BP eventually deferred to, for weeks after the accident.
(New York Times, June 11, 2010) (link to acticle)
Further updates to come?
(bbl = barrel = 31.5 US gallons or approximately 119 Liters)
Well, yes, further updates. From the AP:
ReplyDeleteA government panel of scientists said that the ruptured well is leaking between 1.47 million and 2.52 million gallons a day of oil. That is an increase over previous estimates that put the maximum size of the spill at 2.1 million gallons per day.
At the high end of this estimate, is 80,000 bbls/day or 16 times the original estimate of 5,000 bbls/day.