BP CEO says dome to be on seabed Thurs.

[grantcart]

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - BP's chief executive says that a containment dome designed to cover the Gulf oil leak will be on the seabed Thursday, and will be hooked up to a drill ship over the weekend.

CEO Tony Hayward told reporters Tuesday that if all goes according to plan, the principal leak could be contained by early next week. But he stressed that this procedure has never been done before at a depth of 5,000 feet, saying "there's no guarantees."

The plan is to cover the leak in the structure known as a cofferdam, and funnel the oil to the surface.

Hayward also said that chemical dispersants being used on the oil have "significantly" reduced the amount of oil coming to the surface.

Read more: http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/gulf_oil_spill/bp-ceo-says-dome-to-be-on-seabed-thursday

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hopefully it will work.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

1. "...reduced the amount of oil coming to the surface."

I am not sure which is worse, the idea of it coming to shore or the idea of it sitting down there, covering everything. :(

[hugo_from_TN]

2. Much much better to have it sink to the bottom

Not much life on the bottom (at 5K feet) compared to the top. Orders of magnitude I believe.

[greiner3]

3. Which will come ashore;

The first hurricane that comes close to that spot.

[dipsydoodle]

6. That doesn't follow

The materials they use solidifies the oil into a tar which sinks to the floor of the sea. At the well itself that's nearly a mile deep and unlikely to be affected by even a hurricane. I appreciate its shallower toward the shore.

[Ex Lurker]

9. not at 5000 feet n/t

[wysingm]

5. Adult shrimp live close to the bottom.

[damntexdem]

8. At 5000 feet?

Besides, the idea is to pump the oil from the dome up to a tanker. However, this is an untried technology at that depth, so may well not work as promised, or at all.

[naaman fletcher]

4. I believe that with this dome they will be able to collect it, not just let is sit there. nt.

[Ex Lurker]

10. yes, it will be collected under the dome and pumped to a barge on the surface

assuming the plan works. Think of a giant inverted funnel. I will say they are going all out, using some amazing technology. Almost akin to operating in space. In fact, the guy who founded Oceaneering, the company operating the undersea robots, is a former astronaut. They clearly have a lot of knowhow. I just wish they had used it ahead of time to prevent this from ever happening.

[NecklyTyler]

11. Ding, Ding, Ding, ... We have a winner folks!

Money talks, and BP sees money floating away with every tar ball that hits the beach. BP is 'Johnnie on the spot' with a collection dome to pump that oil to the surface - and then sell it.

Don't think for an instant an oil company would work 24/7 to prevent an environmental disaster

[damntexdem]

7. I'm sure that it WILL be on the seabed by then.

Whether or not it covers a leak is another, very-different matter.