The US oil spill plan failed

Oil continued to escape from the Gulf of Mexico bottom after BP pumped mud into the leak last week.

A BP worker threw oil sorbent bags into barrels in the port city of Fourchon, Louisiana, USA on May 29.Photo: AP.

Thousands of barrels of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico every day since the Deepwater Horion rig owned by BP Group exploded and sank on April 20. BP is under pressure to leak oil wells after their efforts proved ineffective.

On May 26, BP gave a remote control arm a pump of mud into a leaking oil well in the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico to prevent oil from escaping. However, according to AP, this effort failed. Yesterday BP's management board announced it would focus on preventing oil spills instead of oil wells.

"We are not suffering from oil wells at the bottom of the bay," admitted Bob Dudley, a member of the BP executive board.

Scientists have reported that the oil has reached a depth of several tens of meters above the water surface in the Gulf of Mexico. However, Tony Hayward, BP's chief executive, dismissed this. He said BP found no evidence that the oil sank below the surface.

"Oil is only above the water. Oil density is only about half that of water. So it cannot sink into the sea," AP quoted Hayward.

But what makes US public opinion and officials most worried is the approaching hurricane season. People fear oil will spread faster and farther when the waves become stronger thanks to storms.

This is the most serious environmental disaster in American history. US government statistics show that between 68 and 150 million liters of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico.