OMG! This guy is a f*cking moron. Seriously, when is he getting fired!
On heels of failure, BP vows to start again -- soon
By the CNN Wire Staff
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
New attempt to stop gushing oil could start early this week
Method involves cutting lower marine riser package and lowering cap
BP's CEO apologizes for "disruption," says BP is boosting effort to contain oil
Spill is in its 42nd day
As the oil spill entered its 42nd day Monday, efforts to clean up coastal areas and develop a new plan of attack continued.
All previous attempts at containing the crude gushing from BP's undersea well have failed, including a "top kill" approach that many had pinned their hopes on.
BP said Sunday that it would strengthen its efforts to stop the flow and protect the coastline.
"As far as I'm concerned, a cup of oil on the beach is a failure," BP CEO Tony Hayward told reporters in Venice, Louisiana.
Hayward said he was sorry for the spill and the "massive disruption" it has caused the Gulf Coast.
"There's no one who wants this over more than I do. I would like my life back," Hayward told reporters. But he said the company has about 30 aircraft searching for signs of oil and has moved more than 300 people to offshore "floatels" to speed up its response time.
Up to 19,000 barrels (798,000 gallons) of oil a day have been spewing out of a BP-owned undersea well since the late April sinking of the drill rig Deepwater Horizon. BP, rig owner Transocean Ltd. and oilfield services company Halliburton have blamed each other for the disaster, which left 11 workers dead, but BP is responsible for cleanup under federal law.
"We're disappointed the oil is going to flow for a while, and we're going to redouble our efforts to keep it off the beaches," BP Managing Director Robert Dudley said on CNN's "State of the Union."
The most recent setback was the failure of the so-called "top kill" method of pumping mud to plug the leak.
Dudley said the next effort will involve placing a custom-built cap to fit over a piece of equipment called the "lower marine riser package." The process will involve cutting the riser package to create a clean surface to cap, Dudley said, and warm water will be circulated around the cap to prevent the freezing that hindered a previous dome-cap effort.
If successful, the procedure will allow BP to collect most -- but not all -- of the oil spewing from the well. The long-term solution is the drilling of a relief well that will be in place by August.
"If we can contain the flow of the well between now and August and keep it out of the ocean, that's also a good outcome as well," Dudley said. "And then, if we can shut it off completely with a relief well, that's not a bad outcome compared to where we are today."
On Sunday, the Obama Administration questioned BP's oil spill numbers.
On NBC's "Meet the Press," Carol Browner, Obama's assistant on energy and climate change, said BP may have had an ulterior motive for underestimating the amount of oil leaking.
"BP has a financial interest in these numbers. They will pay a penalty based on the number of barrels per day," she said.
BP had originally said about 5,000 barrels of oil per day were leaking.
The latest estimate, Browner said, is between 12,000 and 19,000 barrels per day.
"This is probably the biggest environmental disaster we've ever faced in this country," she said.
More oil is leaking into the Gulf of Mexico than any other spill in U.S. history, including the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska, according to the government.
Many systems are in place to manage and decrease the amount of oil coming on shore, Browner said.
Controlled burns of oil have been effective so far, she said, though they have been limited due to weather conditions.
As a consequence of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, all deepwater operations in the gulf have been shut down for now, including operating wells, Browner said.
"At the end of the day we will make the right decisions ensuring that our environment is protected," she said.
