Live Feed Of Oil Spill

BP says it will try a new strategy now that “top kill” has failed.

An underwater robot gripped a saw near the bent and leaking pipe, or riser, atop a failed blowout preventer. BP aims to slice off the pipe and place a cap and seal over the opening. The idea is to connect that to a new riser from the drillship above, with the hopes of capturing oil and natural gas.

That operation is known as the lower marine riser package, and [chief operating officer Doug] Suttles confirmed that BP had been preparing for that step “all along.”

“We haven’t done it to this date because we needed the diagnostic data to make sure we didn’t make the situation worse,” Suttles said.

But BP’s credibility is fading with each passing day and failed attempt.

On almost every issue — the amount of gushing oil, the environmental impact, even how to stop the leak — BP’s statements have proven wrong. The erosion of the company’s credibility may prove as difficult to stop as the oil spewing from the sea floor.

“They keep making one mistake after another. That gives the impression that they’re hiding things,” said U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat who has been critical of BP’s reluctance to publicly release videos of the underwater gusher. “These guys either do not have any sense of accountability to the public or they are Neanderthals when it comes to public relations.”

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.