21-Mile Plume from BP (NYSE:BP) Oil Spill Based on 2-month Old Data

Is 21-mile Oil Plume a Hoax?


Incredibly, the fading New York Times and Washington Post jumped all over the alleged 21-mile long oil plume, identified by the Times as "new research," and the Post as "evidence" of the oil still lingering in the Gulf or some unknown location in the vast seas.

The problem is, this "evidence" was from two months ago, and was by no means new, as the Times asserts, and isn't considered evidence, as the Post asserts, even by the "academic" scientists proffering the information.

Funny how they just came out with this new evidence two months after the fact. And of course it is an "invisible" plume, something that can't be confirmed by the naked eye of human beings. Convenient isn't it?

This alleged discovery was made by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts. They evidently decided to keep the discovery of the 21-mile long plume, also described as 65 stories high and over a mile wide, secret from everyone else until Thursday, August 19.

Oh yes, and it somehow happened to coincide with a House subcommittee hearing on the oil spill. Amazing timing!

There are enormous questions about the theory these academic scientists are saying, the biggest being the question of how the oil could have got to where it was said to have created the plume.

Somehow a miracle seems to have occurred, with the oil no longer floating as has been proven in the past, but it defied its normal behavior and stopped about halfway up to the surface and lingered there in an enormous, but completely clear and invisible way. It's a miracle?

So how are the scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution covering their rear-ends with this? While still making the assertion the oil is still out there, they can no longer say where, as it has been taken away by the "ocean currents." Really, they said that.

With a serious scientific face, they than conclude that more than likely it has moved on to a different location. You just can't make this kind of stuff up.

So this invisible oil plume which is completely acting different than proven behavior of oil floating to the surface, which is 21 miles long and as tall as a 65 story building, has now disappeared (laughter in the background).

How convenient they waited for two months to release their information at the hearing.

So why did the idea of a gigantic oil plume which can't be traced or seen, and which acts completely different than oil in the past, defying the physics of it? It's all to do with the warm Gulf waters which naturally create ideal conditions for oil-eating microbes.

They had to destroy the idea that the microbes have eaten most of the oil, so they have this unprecedented behavior of oil not going to the surface as usual, but somehow stopping in the colder waters of the Gulf.

That's important to their narrative because then they can then say the oil can't be consumed at the pace suggested by the report released which said up to 75 percent of the oil was gone from the Gulf by natural means, mostly from evaporation and microbes eating it.

That also takes care of the evaporation reality as well. If the oil doesn't reach the surface, it can't evaporate. Can it?

In case you think I'm an apologist for the U.S. government in most matters, I'm not, but there's an agenda here, and I'll get to it in a moment.

But for "academic" scientists to act as if some type of miracle has happened with the Gulf oil which defies all the normal behavior and characteristics of an oil spill, is borderline religion, as you have to must have a lot of faith and be naive to believe this outrageous yarn.

So what is this all about, and why has this information miraculously come to the public eye at the hearing today? It's all about money. Period!

Do some research on universities to see where the money is going. Remember not long ago when some departments at Berkeley attacked others because BP had granted them money? Do you think it was because they were truly outraged? No. Universities are hurting, and they're looking for money to continue their operations, and believe it when I say science departments and related areas are included.

This is why almost every scientist quoted in the two articles said the government figures were too "optimistic." They had been viewing the oil spill as a great opportunity to generate some funding for specific departments, and the report from the government blew their little agendas to bits.

There is nothing more to this. Read the articles closely and dissect what they're saying. It's nonsense and gibberish. There's proof of nothing other than the possible foundation for a science fiction novel.

No proof is evident that these alleged plumes continue to exist, and its convenient to assert that in order to generate funding so these organizations and universities can garner taxpayer dollars in order to protect us from the great, invisible oil monster hiding in the deep blue sea.

BP (NYSE:BP) Sends Mitsui (Nasdaq:MITSY) Bill for $480 Million

Mitsui (Nasdaq:MITSY), which has refused to comment for the duration of the BP (NYSE:BP) oil spill, especially when it has been noted they've received bills from BP in connection with the disaster, reported it has received a bill from BP of $480 million.

The reason for the bill is Mitsui is a 10 percent partner in the project. Also being billed during the cleanup efforts has been Anadarko (NYSE:APC), which has also been billed.

Anadarko has been very verbal about not paying the bills, saying it was the reckless behavior of BP which led to the catastrophe. Mitsui, on the other hand, has refused to comment and has been on the sidelines watching until the appropriate moment. Anadarko has a 25 percent stake in the Macondo well.

Terms of their partnership include an arbitration clause, which the companies could enter into if BP continues to press the matter, as they seem to be more than willing to do.

BP's (NYSE:BP) Bob Dudley Says Time to Slash Cleanup Efforts

While it has been helpful to those who have lost work in the area because of the BP (NYSE:BP) oil spill, there simply isn't much oil left to removed from the Gulf of Mexico, and incoming CEO Bob Dudley said it's time to cut back on the cleanup efforts, while stressing the ongoing commitment of BP to make things right.

The reality of skimming boats, as far as that part of the oil cleanup, is historically, at best, it cleans about 2 percent of the oil spilled in an ocean. Most of the time it's less than that, so even when oil was spewing into the region, that was the case. Now that it's under control with the new containment cap, evaporation and oil-consuming microbes are rapidly removing the oil from the Gulf, and make the former size of the cleanup effort no longer no longer appropriate.

Dudley did reiterate the commitment of BP to cleaning up the effects of the spill, and will continue doing that till the job is completed.

Concerning the overall effects of the oil spill, Dudley said the politically correct statement that "Anyone who thinks this wasn't a catastrophe must be far away from it," not really addressing the realities of the oil rapidly subsiding in the region.

The emotional hype generated by mainstream media outlets to attract eyeballs has left the residue of unbelief concerning any positive news out of the Gulf oil spill.

There is also the want and need to extract as much money out of BP as possible while the public anger remains fixated on them. Even slowing down the cleanup operations has caused much fear and consternation among some politicians and residents, who simply don't listen to the facts and are still overheating on their emotions.

The fact is the reported damage from the oil leak have been overblown, and most of the coastlines of the Gulf haven't been touched by oil, or at most, very little.

So the amount of work to clean the Gulf has to be cut back based on that reality, and not the idea that there is some type of unmanageable amount of hidden oil lurking in the Gulf that crews must be ready to rescue us all from.

BP (NYSE:BP) Cuts Back on Skimming Boats in Gulf

BP (NYSE:BP) has shrunk the number of skimming boats used to clean up the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico by over 25 percent, the company said.

That's related to the stoppage of oil leaking into the Gulf with the new containment cap in place, which continues to work. There is less oil in the Gulf so less need for the number of boats they had been using in the oil cleanup.

At this time there is close to 1,600 boats continuing on in the cleanup efforts on a daily basis.

Matt Kissinger, who directs the boat skimming program, dubbed "vessels of opportunity," said there are about 600 less boats being used than last week.

BP (NYSE:BP) Partners Refuse to Pay Gulf Bills

BP (NYSE:BP) is alone in paying for the Gulf cleanup and liabilities, even though they are not the sole owners of the properties. Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE:APC) and Mitsui of Japan, are 25 percent and 10 percent owners respectfully, while BP is the majority owner with their 65 percent stake.

Although the agreement of ownership includes a clause which requires Anadarko and Mitsui to pay for problems related to the Macondo oil well, it also includes an out, which relates to if there were reckless actions which led to an accident.

In this case, Anadarko especially, has asserted BP has been reckless in the matter, and so they are released from having to pay a portion of the costs, even though they are owners.

Mitsui, throughout the entire situation, have refused to comment.

Anadarko has been sent a $272 million bill most recently, while Mitsui has been sent a bill for $111 million.

BP (NYSE:BP) Searching for $5 Billion More in Funding

It's unknown how long BP (NYSE:BP) can continue going through the money they're spending on the Gulf oil spill, but they are again seeking to access more capital; reportedly looking for an additional $5 billion to help them with the liabilities associated with the spill.

The preferred method of raising this latest round of funding is through short-term loans from banks.

This doesn't include the $20 billion committed to the escrow fund for those making claims from damages related to the accident.

So far BP has paid out over $2.7 billion for cleaning up the spill.

BP (NYSE:BP) Halts Skimmers Ships on Bad Weather

Oil skimmers were stopped by BP (NYSE:BP) and sent to share as bad weather from Tropical Storm Alex sends strong winds and high waves to the oil spill region.

BP has stated the storm could hinder operations and keep their effort to install a third oil-capture system on hold, which would bring the amount of oil collected on a daily basis to over 50,000 barrels.

Waves have been as high as 12 feet in a number of places in the Gulf, along with 25 mph winds.

One of the managers of the skimming operations for BP, Wayne Hebert, said there is no way of knowing when the skimming work will resume, as it's completely dependent upon weather conditions.

BP (NYSE:BP) Oil Capture Rate Slowing

At the same time BP (NYSE:BP) cleanup costs are rising on a daily basis, the capture rate of oil has been falling.

Costs on a daily basis over the last three days has been $100 million, while the capture rate of oil has plummeted from 28,570 a day during the week to 23,700 barrels a day through the weekend.

That could be a sign that the underwater robot hitting the containment cap may have resulted in a poorer capture rate when it was put back in place, as it has been down ever since.

Before the accident the oil capture rate was at close to capacity.

Once a couple of new vessels are added to the capture system, estimates are as high as 53,000 barrels a day in oil could be capture, which should give a better idea of how much is actually escaping the well.

BP (NYSE:BP) Oil Cleanup Costs Reach $100 Million Daily

The daily cost of cleaning up the oil spill for BP (NYSE:BP) continues to rise, as it has now reached a level of $100 million on a daily basis for the last three days.

So far the oil giant has spent $2.65 billion on cleanup since April 20.

Costs have risen from about $6 million a day right after the spill in the latter part of April, to the $100 million a day mentioned.

If this rate continues, BP could easily spend over double what they already have in less than a month, and if it continue to grow in daily costs, it'll reach much higher.

Additional BP (NYSE:BP) Oil-Capture Capacity Delayed

Tropical Storm Alex, whether it turns toward the BP (NYSE:BP) oil spill or not, has already affected the plans of BP to add capture capacity to the oil spilling into the Gulf.

The company was about to add a third vessel to the oil collection efforts, which had the possibility of capturing the majority of oil escaping into the region.

After the third vessel is hooked up it could capture up to 53,000 barrels a day. Depending on how much is actually escaping into the Gulf, that could cover the vast majority of it.

Up to 60,000 barrels are estimated to be leaking into the Gulf on a daily basis, with worst-case scenario from BP placing it as high as 100,000; although that latter number is doubtful.

Unless the storm changes course, the existing oil-capture systems are expected to be unaffected by the tropical storm.

Waves up to 12 feet high are going to cause the delay of attaching the third vessel to capture oil.

BP (NYSE:BP) Relief Wells and Storm Season

The storm season is rapidly approaching, and there are a number of ways this could disrupt the cleanup efforts of BP (NYSE:BP) as they battle the oil spill.

Most obvious is the attempt to capture as much oil as they can as it continues to spill into the Gulf of Mexico. Tropical Storm Alex, if it does move into the cleanup area, could disrupt the process for about two weeks.

But for the long term and more permanent solution, Alex, and other possible storms could cause the original time period to extend much longer as to how long before they permanently stop the leak.

As important as it is to keep the cleanup efforts going on the existing leak, it's even more important to stop the leak in its tracks.

Up to three tropical storms are projected to hit the Gulf region this season, and if each one were to stop efforts for two weeks, it could cause the relief wells to up to a month and a half to two months longer.

How BP (NYSE:BP) Would Respond to Storm

The first named tropical storm, Tropical Storm Alex, could disrupt the cleanup efforts of BP (NYSE:BP) in the Gulf of Mexico if it starts to move in that direction.

It isn't clear that the storm will hit the spill area, but if it did, it could arrive in the Gulf of Mexico in the early part of the week. Preparations are being made for that scenario if it happens.

For the Discoverer Enterprise, the first system put in place to capture oil, they would have to be disconnected about 114 hours before the heavy winds hit, while the smaller Helix Q4000 vessel would be removed 56 hours before the storm came.

The most negative aspect of the storm if it does gravitate towards the spill would be the delaying of the arrival of Helix Producer, a vessel which would be able to withstand much harsher weather conditions.

Once the additional vessel is in place and a third system operating, an estimated 53,000 barrels of oil could be captured on a daily basis, which, depending on the actual amount of oil flowing into the Gulf, could capture the bulk of it.

BP (NYSE:BP) Improves Oil Recovery

After the recent setback from an underwater robot hitting a containment cap and stopping the oil recovery efforts by BP (NYSE:BP) from one of their systems, the company is back on track, with Friday's results starting to reach capacity levels again.

If the weather allows it, BP has plans to put another oil capture system in play which will increase levels to over 50,000 barrels a day, which may end up capturing all the oil leaking out of the oil well.

Oil recovery for Friday came in at 24,550 barrels, an increase of about 3.5 percent over Thursday's total, although down from the highs they had before the robotic accident.

For natural gas, BP flared about 54.5 million cubic feet on Friday as well.

Will BP's (NYSE:BP) Increased Capture Capacity End Spill?

If BP (NYSE:BP) has some luck on their side, next week when they increase their ability to capture oil from the leaking oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, they'll be able to manage the flow for the first time it started leaking into the Gulf.

A lot has to fall in place, and the most important is whether that increased capacity will be enough to cover the amount of oil continuing to empty into the Gulf.

Estimates will have to be fairly accurate for that to happen, and if they are able to cover those projections, for the first time an estimate as to the liability concerning the spill will probably be able to be made; at least as to how the Clean Water Act goes, which could result in billion of dollars in fines, depending on how BP's role in the accident is defined.

The other problem and potential frustration is if they are able to collect the vast majority of oil spilling, and then storms arrive which undo a lot of that progress for a significant period of time.

If they are able to put the new system in place, at least they'll be able to relatively quickly attach and detach to and from the system, which would allow less oil to continue being released.

At this time meteorologists have said it could be the worst storm season in years, and three major ones could hit the Gulf in a major way.

BP (NYSE:BP) Puts Second Containment System in Action

The second containment system to collect oil and gas from the Gulf spill has been started to be used by BP (NYSE:BP), which should allow the oil company to collect more oil and give a clearer picture as to how much oil is actually escaping into the Gulf.

Early today the new system started collecting oil and gas and brought it to a vessel waiting on the surface to process it.

Government scientists have been as unable to get an accurate reading as BP has concerning the amount of oil escaping the well, now upwardly adjusting the amount to 35,000 to 60,000 barrels a day, up from their prior figures of 20,000 to 40,000 a day.

Once the new containment system is optimized, it'll capture a lot more oil and as than before, and if they aren't able to handle that amount, it'll tell us whether or not the government numbers are even close to being based in reality.

BP (NYSE:BP): Oil Will Become Trickle

In the boldest statement from BP (NYSE:BP) yet on their attempt to stop oil from flowing into the Gulf of Mexico, Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles said the flow of oil should be reduced "to a relative trickle" by as early as Monday or Tuesday.

Suttles reiterated that a second vessel is on its way to help with the processing of the oil, which the current tanker is oil to do at a 15,000 barrel-a-day pace. The new one should process oil at between 5,000 to 10,000 barrels a day.

Next month a new containment cap currently being built is expected to even better seal the oil well, reducing the oil leakage even more.

With oil reaching the shores probably coming from the day of the accident, Suttles said we'll probably see oil following up by about that same number of days once the leak is mostly contained.

BP (NYSE:BP) Captures 14,800 Barrels Monday

BP (NYSE:BP) is improving its capture rate of oil, as it increased to 14,800 barrels on the day, approaching the limitations of how much it can process on the one vessel in the area in the short term.

As a result of their success, BP is bringing another ship into the area in order to be able to process more of the captured oil as it increases in the amount collected. That ship is expected to reach the region in two to three days.

Once that ship arrives, it should be able to increase oil processing capacity from 5,000 to 10,000 barrels a day. The ship now doing the processing is only able to process 15,000 barrels a day, seemingly making the capturing process more successful than BP evidently originally thought it would be.

Sometime next month an even better cap will be put in place which should be able to capture even more oil and stop the ocean leak even better.

Florida Says BP (NYSE:BP), Obama, Slow to Respond

Florida officials are frustrated over the slow response of the Obama administration and BP (NYSE:BP) (LON:BP) to the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico which is now starting to spread to their shores and impact their tourism industry.

Because of the slow response, officials are calling for BP to continue paying for the cleanup efforts but allow Florida to run the operations.

“They can write the checks,” said Gene Valentino, a commissioner for Escambia County. “In the meantime, we need action. We need boots on the ground. We need specific remedies and solutions to respond to the impacts as they occur.”

BP Florida spokeswoman Lucia Bustamante said this about the situation, “We are ready, we are prepared, adding BP is training people “as fast as we can,” adding they are committed to using local residents as their cleanup workers.

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum said this today, “I’m outraged by that [time it's taking skimmer boats to reach the area]. Why are we waiting this long to do this? Why is the Coast Guard, Obama, BP waiting? They’ve seen it coming, so why are we waiting?”

It will take up to two weeks for the 20 skimmer boats committed to the state to all be in place.