BP Oil Leak and Tube

As a horrific amount of oil continues to spill into the ocean and drift towards our shores, BP officials keep playing catch up and trying to figure out solutions for the disastrous oil leak.

They are trying to insert a 6 inch tube into the pipe, which currently has a 21 inch hole letting the huge amounts of oil flood out. This would only be another partial measure, and not the ultimate solution to the problem, which even after all this time has not been figured out. The entire situation raises serious questions about the safety of oil drilling and whether it is really a proper solution to our energy problems. The impact of this leak environmentally will be felt for decades to come.

BP Oil Leak and Tube
csmonitor

BP officials said Thursday they would thread a small tube into a jagged pipe on the seafloor to suck oil to the surface before it can spew into the Gulf of Mexico and add to a disaster apparently set in motion by a long list of equipment failures. Engineers will have to make sure the 6-inch-wide tube is inserted deep enough into the 21-inch-wide pipe so gas and seawater don't mix, which can form crystals that could clog the tube. They'll also have to thread the tube into the pipe without hitting debris around the riser. The smaller tube will be surrounded by a stopper to keep oil from leaking into the sea. The tube would then siphon the crude to a tanker at the surface, though BP declined to estimate how much oil the tube will be able to collect.

BP Oil Leak and Tube