By ROBERT, Louisiana, April 28, 2010 (ENS) – There is five times as much oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico from the Deepwater Horizon’s undersea wellhead than was originally thought, a Coast Guard official said late tonight. Rear Adm. Mary Landry, the federal on-scene coordinator for the oil rig disaster, told reporters that based on analysis from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 5,000 barrels a day are now spilling from the wellhead left open by the explosion and fire that sank the Deepwater Horizon on April 22. To add to the massive oil spill, a third underwater oil leak was detected today in the pipeline that connected the oil rig to the wellhead, said Doug Suttles, chief operating officer for BP, the party that contracted the rig and is responsible for stopping and cleaning up the oil spill. “It’s premature to say this is catastrophic, but I will say this is very serious situation,” said Landry at a news conference this afternoon. … The massive spill threatens coastal wildlife refuges, beaches, estuaries and shellfish beds in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. The oil has been drifting closer to shore by the hour and is now located less than 20 miles from Louisiana. At a news conference earlier today, NOAA’s Charlie Henry said the leading edge of the oil plume will be near the Mississippi Delta by Friday evening. …
Five Times the Oil Gushes From Broken Gulf Wellhead
