Updates on the BP Oil Spill

BP has officially capped the main leak, although reports say that the oil is still seeping two miles away from the leak. The seep is occurring at another well site and, fortunately, are not a risk to the cap. In what was hopeful news, the relief well will reach the busted well by the end of this week which means that they can start pumping cement and mud into the well shutting it off permanently.

Unfortunately, a new tropical storm depression is brewing in the gulf halting all relief well drilling operations. The depression which formed in the Bahamas is headed straight for the well and will pass over it within a few days.

Finally, the New York Times (NYT) brings us a glimmer of hope for the future. As the NYT reports, "four of the world’s biggest oil companies said on Wednesday that they were committing $1 billion to create a rapid-response system to deal with deepwater oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico, seeking to restore public confidence in the industry after the BP disaster painfully exposed how unprepared the industry was for a major accident." These four companies including BP will create a non-profit entity that will monitor the creation of containment equipment like pipelines and underwater systems. This equipment is deployable within 24 hours.

For more information about the capped well and seepage:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jul/20/bp-oil-spill-seepage-well

For more information about the tropical storm depression formation:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/23/us/23spill.html

For more information about the oil company pact:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/22/business/energy-environment/22response.html?_r=1&th&emc=th