The Daily Green takes a look at some surprising statistics from the BP oil spill.
As officials continue to carry out cleanup efforts from the deadly April 20 BP oil spill, one thing is clear: Last week's Gulf Coast spill is one of the worst in history. It's tough to say just how much oil might leak out before the three major underwater leaks are stopped.
This isn't the first time British Petroleum has run into trouble. In 2005, a massive explosionkilling 15 workers and injuring 170 others. The company was fined $87 million for negligence. A year later, the company ran into problems again when it was cited for leaking around 4,800 barrels of oil into Alaska's Prudhoe Bay, due to a corroded stretch of pipeline. The company was warned about the corroded pipe four years earlier but did nothing to fix it -- and was fined $20 million for ignoring opportunities to prevent the spill. occurred at the company's Texas City, Texas, refinery,
In order to give you a better sense of just how big the unfolding tragedy in the Gulf is, we dug out some surprising statistics:
The Size of the Spill
5,000 - 60,000 barrels a day: Rate at which oil is leaking from the Deepwater Horizon rig. Some experts now believe that original estimates of 5,000 barrels a day (that's 210,000 gallons) were way off. And BP says that it's like that the leak rate is around 60,000 barrels (2.5 million gallons) a day. (Source: Los Angeles Times) 19 million to 39 million gallons: Amount of oil leaked into the Gulf of Mexico in the month since the Deepwater Horizon spill. (Source: Huffington Post). 11,300 miles: The distance around the world the current amount of leaked oil would stretch if it was placed in milk jugs lined up side by side. To quantify, that's further than New York to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and back. (Source: New York Times) 102: The number of school gymnasiums that could theoretically be filled floor-to-ceiling with oil from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. (Source: New York Times) 130 miles long and 70 miles wide: Size of the oil slick as of May 17. The slick continues to grow and move. (Source: New Orleans Times Picayune) 11: Number of workers missing and presumed dead following the BP rig explosion. (Source: Huffington Post)
The Clean Up
436,000 gallons: Number of gallons of dispersant sprayed on the oil spill to break it up. Thus far, around 4 million gallons of oily water have been recovered. (Source: AP) 50,000 barrels of "heavy mud": Amount of mud used in BP's "top kill" method of stopping the flow of leaking oil. The mud is to be forced into the leaking well in order to overcome the oil and stop its flow. This method has been used before but never at the depths of the Gulf of Mexico oil leak. (Source: Guardian)
The Cost
$300 million: Estimated cost to BP to plug up the leaking oil spill, not including environmental cleanup costs. (Source: New York Times) $5 to $42 million: Range of BP's estimated fines, per day. On the low end, is the cost based on BP's conservative estimate of 1,000 barrels a day being lost. On the high end, an estimate of 14,000 barrels a day, which is generally considered a more accurate estimate of the leak. As of May 26, this means that BP could be fined anywhere between $37 million to $1.5 billion. (Source: House of Representatives) $75 million: The government-mandated cap on oil company liability. Some representatives are calling for the cap to be lifted and a new $10 billion dollar cap be put in place. (Source: Los Angeles Times) $1.5 billion: Amount in insurance claims experts believe the BP spill will cost insurers. (Source: Business Week)
The Threat to Life
400: Number of wildlife species threatened by the spill. Threatened species include sea life such as whales, tuna and shrimp; dozens of species of birds; land animals such as the gray fox and white-tailed deer; and amphibians such as the alligator and the snapping turtle. (Source: New Orleans Times-Picayune) At least 30: Species of birds the Audubon Society says are potentially threatened by the oil spill. These include marsh birds, ocean-dwelling birds and migratory songbirds. All reside in "Important Bird Areas," according to Audubon, designated because of their "essential habitat value." Among the most vulnerable species is the brown pelican -- the state bird of Louisiana -- which was only recently removed from the endangered species list. The spill is especially devastating for bird populations because it coincides with the beginning of breeding season. (Source: Audubon Society) 25 million: Number of birds that traverse the Gulf Coast per day, and which are potentially at risk from the oil spill. According to the LA Times Greenspace Blog, "Late spring is the peak time for neo-tropical songbirds moving from the Yucatan Peninsula to make their first landfall in Louisiana," and "more than 70% of the country's waterfowl frequent the gulf's waters." (Source: LA Times Greenspace Blog) 11 million: Number of gallons of oil leaked into Alaska's Prince William Sound in 1989 by the Exxon Valdez oil leak. It is widely considered the worst oil spill in U.S. history, although a number of larger spills have happened around the world, most notably the 2002 PrestigeCBS News) spill off Spain. (Source:
Background on the Gulf Oil Spill
30 percent: Percent of the nation's oil production derived from the Gulf of Mexico. (Source: E2 Wire) 1 billion: Number of gallons of oil spilled into the oceans each year, Gulf of Mexico spill notwithstanding. (Source: Union of Concerned Scientists) 2,300 square miles: Number of miles of historic Louisiana coastal marsh and cypress forest (out of 7,000) that have been compromised due to oil drilling. (Source: Environmental Defense Fund)
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En la foto:
The Mississippi Delta, with the oil slick visible as a silvery swirl. The oil slick may be particularly obvious in this image because it is occurring in the sunglint area, where the mirror-like reflection of the Sun off the water gives the Gulf of Mexico a washed-out look.
Photo: Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) / NASA Aqua Satellite
