30-May-10 1. The Southern Tendril The question of whether the tendril would loop back to the north or veer off in the SSW direction appears to be answered- it will do both. This remnant of the Gulf of Mexico gusher sure looks like it will make it around Florida- but how much oil is left? Oil disperses and degrades. My prediction -it will be difficult to distinguish the minute tar balls from the natural oil that seeps into the Gulf of Mexico and is swept onto Florida beaches routinely. 2. The "top kill" Dud Ok- give BP a break. The many attempts to top kill the Ixtoc well in 1979 is well known, so BP tried to reduce expectations. The next attempt is to cut off the broken riser and attach a new riser that will capture most of the oil. It certainly sounds that the final solution will be the relief wells. The latest is the first well is at 12,000 ft. Not sure what the current timetable is, as I think they have to drill to 18,000 ft measure depth from the rig floor. Will they attempt to kill the well with the first well? This would seem possible. Or wait until they have both wells at their final depths. 3. Clean up in the marshes It's got to be a miserable job. The spill is degrading into small tar balls. It appears they can use nets to capture only a small fraction, as more tar balls keep coming in. A news media blitz on "who's in charge" has apparently settled down (best to leave it at that- I am not interested in the political part of this story). Stay tuned, Dave Lord 30-May-10
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