Onshore Winds Push Spill Toward Land As Slick Increases, Obama Demands Escrow

The NOAA reports that winds are likely to push oil ashore for most of next week, affecting the Gulf Coast from West of New Orleans to the Florida Panhandle.

Onshore (SE/S/SW) winds are forecast to continue into next week at speeds less than 10 knots. Persistent onshore winds have resulted in northward movement of the slick towards the Mississippi/Alabama barrier islands and the Florida Panhandle. Coastal regions in Mississippi Sound west of Freeport may continue to experience shoreline contacts throughout this forecast period. Persistent southeasterly winds are also resulting in the movement of oil towards the Chandeleur Islands, Breton Sound, and the Mississippi Delta.

In the meantime, the BP containment device is collecting about 15,000 barrels a day, but the leak volume may be as high as 40,000 barrels a day.

On June 11, federal officials sent BP’s COO a letter warning that the company was too slow in its efforts to collect crude as it rises from the ocean floor, but the notice had no teeth.  Media reports say that Obama will demand BP establish an escrow account managed by an independent board to cover costs of the clean up when he meets with executives of the oil company on Wednesday.Neither did a letter from the attorney general of Florida, who is fighting a losing battle to become the state’s governor, which demanded that BP put $2.5 billion in escrow to cover the Sunshine State’s clean-up costs and other liabilities. It was nothing more than a ploy to help him in the polls. BP ignored it.

The most likely move by BP to relieve the speed of the lead is relief wells, two of which are being drilled now. If they do not work after their completion in about two months, the oil spill could last indefinitely.

Douglas A. McIntyre