Top Kill Operation News Today

Examples large and small of bps lack of transparency. the bottom line, we have a right to know. for months, weve wondered why, even on critically important operations, we arent getting realtime information, or realtime explanations. when nasa launches a space shuttle, theres an announcer explaining what is happening second by second. when bp launches an operation, silence. we have a right to know. about three weeks ago, bp sounded like they were going to change. bob dudley the guy who replaced t...

Our job to keep you constantly informed. is that acceptable to you? >> this has been a continuing pattern that has been engaged in by bp since the very beginning. its completely unacceptable. its why we have to keep an eagle eye on everything which they do, because theyre intending to lower the liability at the expense of the liveability of the gulf of mexico. >> it did seem a few weeks ago, bob dudley who is running the operation for bp now that tony hayward has been banished to europe. he indi...

That bp spilled no the gulf of mexico, the fine is $3.5 billion. if it was 60,000 barrels per day, that would be $18 billion. so this is no small matter. if it is possible to measure the containme containment, to measure the oil flow with precision, then absolutely it should be done. >> bp spokesman. i want to talk to you about transparency. all along, weve been suggesting and frustrated at the lack of realtime information that comes out of bp. they put out press releases hours after something h...

If it was 60,000 barrels per day, that would be $18 billion. so this is no small matter. if it is possible to measure th containment, to measure the oil flow with precision, then absolutely it should be done. >> bp spokesman. i want to talk to you about transparency. all along, weve been suggesting and frustrated at the lack of realtime information that comes out of bp. they put out press releases hours after something has happened, sometimes 16 hours in the case of the top kill operation which ...

Happened, sometimes 16 hours in the case of the top kill operation which they had stopped, didnt tell anybody about it for 16 hours in terms of the american public. a spokesman for bp yesterday evening said dont expect us to keep you informed every step of the way. well let you know if something has changed. but basically saying, its not our job to keep you constantly informed. is that acceptable to you? >> this has been a continuing pattern that has been engaged in by bp since the very beginnin...

To figure out who to give immunity too? >> absolutely. thats the most important thing, to give someone immunity, you cant take it back. once they actually testify under a grant of immunity, its effectively impossible to prosecute them. prosecutors try to be very judicious and give immunity in circumstances where they really need the testimony, and they really can accept that this person is going to escape prosecution. thats a judgment you can make only at the beginning of the operation, not at t...

That was the one that for reference purposes was involved in the top kill operation. before the disaster, bp said it was capable of skimming 500,000 barrels of oil per day over the course of 77 days. it has only come to 60% of that. did bp just wildly overestimate what it could do or in the wake of this, does the industry fundamentally have to rethink its capabilities? >> there is a lot of rethinking that goes in place. a lot of the oil spill response was put in place following the valdez incide...

Well from leaking. about it seems to me that what we are left with now is waiting for this relief well to be drilled and that will happen sometime in august. so today is june 17. back in 1979, the ipox-1 took nine months to cap after drilling several relief wells and that was only 160 feet down into the ocean. while this well is 5,000 feet bloat surface of the ocean. have you abandoned any other efforts to kill this well? are we at the point where bp is doing nothing until relief well gets down ...

Reservoir, we tried to kill the well from the top using a top kill operation and the pressures in the well are such that its not possible to do that, so we have to rely on the relief wells. in the interim, we are continuing to contain as much of the oil as we can. and that operation is currently containing 20,000 barrels a day. by the end of this month, well have the ability to contain between 40,000 and 50,000 barrels a day. and by the middle of jewuly, between 60,000 and 80,000 barrels a day. ...

Capture more oil? >> its called a q4000, the same rig they used in the top kill operation. they tried to shoot the heavy mud down and theyre reversing the process. using the rig to siphon oil out. once they get it onboard they mix it with compressed air, shoot it down a boom and ignite it with a special flair. the hope is to burn off millions of gallons of oil. sometime over the next two to three days they hope to be fully operational. it started about 12 hours ago. >> shepard: theres been a lot...