The Oil on the Surface is Just the Tip of the Iceberg...

Scientists from several universities recently reported the discovery of massive plumes of what appears to be oil suspended in clouds stretching for miles and reaching hundreds of feet beneath the Gulf's surface. Those findings — from the University of South Florida, the University of Georgia, Southern Mississippi University and other institutions — were based on water samples taken in the Gulf over the last several weeks. They continue to be analyzed.

Yesterday, however, BP Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward categorically denied these findings. Hayward claims that BP's own sampling has shown "no evidence" that oil is suspended in large masses underwater but he did not elaborate on how BP's testing was done. "The oil is on the surface," Hayward said. "Oil has a specific gravity that's about half that of water. It wants to get to the surface because of the difference in specific gravity."

Hayward is correct that crude oil in its natural state will generally migrate towards the surface and form somewhat homogeneous slicks BUT BP has injected massive quantities of Corexit dispersant into the leak at the bottom of the Gulf to try to break up and disperse the oil preventing it from forming slicks at the surface. Nobody (not even Tony) knows exactly how this has effected the oil's trajectory to the top of the water column.

BP has a vested interest in preventing the oil from reaching the surface where it can be quantified. As long as it can be kept deep under the surface, the public can be kept in the dark and everything will "look" OK...

BP Horizon Oil Reaches Louisiana Marshlands

The BP Horizon oil spill is beginning to make itself apparent onshore. Until yesterday the vast majority of the oil was offshore and out of sight - much of it apparently still deep under the surface. The environmentally important and extremely sensitive Louisiana coastal marshlands were the fist areas to be impacted by large quantities of the oil.

This was not the light sheen or scattered tar balls that have been witnessed up and down the coast but heavy oil that is the consistency of latex paint. This oil has coated much of the marsh grasses and is seeping into the soil prompting Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal to lament, "The day that we've been fearing is upon us today".

While the environmental destruction and the damage to the local Gulf Coast fishing industry will certainly be evident for many, many years to come, public outrage will probably not hit a crescendo until this gunk starts washing up on the white sand beaches now covered by tourists and lined with soon to be empty condominiums.

Lawyers Quickly Descending on the Gulf Coast

Just as expected, teams of lawyers are quickly descending on the Gulf to extract their share from the devastation caused by the sinking of British Petroleum’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and the resulting unstoppable oil spill. Multiple lawsuits have already been filed which could dwarf the half-billion dollars awarded after the Exxon Valdez disaster in March 1989.

This reminds me of a joke that I heard many years ago:

Q: What is the difference between a lawyer and a catfish?
A: One is an ugly, scum-sucking, bottom feeder and the other is just a fish...

Plaintiffs in the cases already filed include:

• British Petroleum PLC - The owner of the leaking well.
• Transocean Ltd. - The owner and operator of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig.
• Halliburton, Inc. (Dick Cheney's company) - The contractor that "capped" the well.
• Cameron International - The manufacturer of the well blowout preventers.
• Lloyd's of London may also be financially on the hook as Transocean's insurer.