BREAKING: new underwater footage of oil leak with "siphon" in place

[Nathanael]

New footage has been released of the BP oil leak at the source 5,000 feet down at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico.

If the time stamps on this video are correct then this is footage taken after BP inserted a tube to beging siphoning off some the oil and pumping it to an awaiting ship on the surface.

Looking at this video there remains serious question about the exact amount of oil that is actually flowing from the burst pipe as well as how much is being captured by the inserted siphon.

Check the video out: http://www.energyboom.com/policy/breaking-new-underwater-footage-oil-leak-siphon-place

[spanone]

1. looks like it didn't do squat

[BrklynLiberal]

2. Last night I heard the figure was something like 1% was being captured.

BP is truly trying to make a mountain out of a mole hill.

[tosh]

3. Thanks...

great site, btw.

[Nathanael]

9. No Prob

Glad you like the site. It's growing with the help of people like you.

[flyarm]

4. Government to Oil Plume Discovery Team: Shut Up

Government to Oil Plume Discovery Team: Shut Up | The Seminal

http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/48816#

Government to Oil Plume Discovery Team: Shut Up
By: Jim White Tuesday May 18, 2010 6:06 am


The research vessel Pelican. (photo: Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium)

On Saturday, the New York Times brought the world’s attention to the discovery by a team of researchers on the the vessel Pelican that there are large underwater plumes of oil emanating from the Deepwater Horizon spill. Remarkably, the response of the government to the attention focused on this discovery has been to tell the researchers to stop granting interviews with the press. At the same time, the blog on which the researchers had been providing updates has also fallen silent since Saturday.

Pensacola television station WEAR filed a report (video at the link) on the oil plume and broke the news about the scientists being muzzled by the government:

Over the weekend, a research crew from the University of Southern Mississippi found evidence that there are 3 to 5 plumes… About 5 miles wide, 10 miles long and 3 hundred feet in depth.

But after giving that information to the press, the lead researcher now says he has been asked by the federal government… Which funds his research… To quit giving interviews until further testing is done.

What an interesting change of course for the government. Even the government’s website on the Deepwater Horizon response had been touting the mission of the Pelican as recently as May 6:

[intheflow]

7. This needs to be its own thread.

Shameless behavior by the government! How long do they really think they can keep a lid on the fact that the Gulf is -- or will soon be -- completely dead? Why not have transparency up front?

[flyarm]

16. It is posted here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8360876

[Nathanael]

11. Thanks...and Wow

Shameless behaviour. The more you try to cover up the scope of this, the worse the public backlash will be. Why do we have to consistently play this hide-and-seek game with the truth?!!?

[DCBob]

5. That is pathetic... there is no observable reduction in the leak.. What a waste of time and effort..

They need to do the "junk shot" or "top kill" or whatever is the best option to seal it ASAP. Idiots.

[tekisui]

6. What a joke.

BP is caught lying again. That siphon is damn near worthless.

[PJPhreak]

8. Ok...

1.That skinny tube being held by that robotic arm is a Flow Meter...They Know How Much oil is Spewing outta that Riser.

2. A bit 'o Sixth grade math...That Riser is 20 inches Inside Diameter.
Using the riser as a Constant (21 inches),How far is the robotic arm from the opening at the end of the riser...Appox 3 Ft is my guess.
As one can see in the beginning of the clip the Oil/Gas Plume extends PAST the Robotic arm. So it is appox 4-5 long.
So at 5000 ft the pressure of the water is appox 2250 psi,the plume is 4-5 ft long coming outta a 20 orifice...the pressure in the Drill String has to be at least 5000+ psi,at the end of the riser mabey half that,2500 psi above ambeint (Surrounding) pressure.

If all this is correct (And this is only an eyeball guess from what I see in the Vid) then my Sorta Educated Guess is appox 25,000 BPD (Barrell Per Day)

One Barrell=42 Gallons (US)

25,000 x 42 = HOLY SHIT!!

[Greyskye]

10. Check this out: compare the beginning and the end of that clip!

It appears that this is footage of the time when the siphon actually was connected.

The linked video is 2:44 seconds long. At the beginning, the black oil spew is boiling out of the pipe and off the screen to the right.

By the end of the clip, you can still see the black cloud, but it's now moving directly up at what appears to be a reduced volume. At the same time, the majority of what is being emitted from the pipe changes color from black to white. There is still an incredible amount of leakage, but does anyone know what these color and volume changes mean?

[PJPhreak]

12. sorta...

The black goo is oil,the white stuff is natural gas.

[profile this]

13. Goo

When I saw the guy on 60 minutes pick up some of the goo with his hand, I almost threw up. It's shameful and criminal.

[PJPhreak]

14. I use the term Goo on purpose...Toxic Goo. nt

[bvar22]

15. I believe they were going to gradually increase the suction .

... (or diversion) on the siphon over a period of days,
and then prepare for a "top kill".

We WANT this to work.
We really, REALLY want this to work.

[BrightKnight]

18. I doubt their little PR pipe will suck any less than it does now. - n/t

[BrightKnight]

17. .