There are news reports that an oil sheen has been spotted some nine miles off the Panhandle and oil could hit the Pensacola Beach as early as Wednesday. A Florida situation report on Tuesday had put the oil spill 55 miles from Pensacola, based on the NOAA oil plume model.
According to the report, Florida had deployed over 257,000 feet of oil containment boom and boom maintenance is being conducted in the coastal areas of Bay, Escambia, Franklin, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, and Walton Counties.
As oil continues to gush from the leaking well, there are estimates that 34 million gallons of crude have entered the gulf, making the oil spill the greatest in the history of the US.
Meanwhile, BP continues to struggle with yet another procedure, following the failed “top kill” operation on Saturday. Known as the Lower Marine Riser Package (LMRP) Cap Containment System, the plan entails cutting and then removing the damaged riser from the top of the failed Blow-Out Preventer (BOP), to leave a cleanly-cut pipe over which the “top cap” would be placed. In turn, the cap is designed to be connected to a riser from the Discoverer Enterprise drillship with the intention of capturing most of the oil and gas flowing from the well.
Experts have said that the ultimate solution to stopping the spewing oil is a relief well, the first of which is expected to be completed by August.
