Gulf oil Spill : BP captures more oil, political pressure mounts
Though BP said on Monday it has met with some success in capturing oil leaking from the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico, the cost continues to rise and political pressure mounts for the company.
The company reported that on June 5, the cap it had attached to the leaking well was able to capture 10,500 barrels of oil out of an estimated 12,000- 19,000 barrels a day spilling out from the wellhead. But, the cleanup costs and efforts to cap the leaking well have increased to $1.25 billion.
Moreover, estimates of the ultimate bill keep rising as the likelihood of significant compensation payouts and civil or criminal penalties increases, the company said. However, BP has reassured investors that it has the financial strength to meet this cost.
Meanwhile, the Congressional Democrats are planning stricter regulations in response to the oil disaster, targeting BP rather than the oil industry as a whole. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he wants a "comprehensive clean-energy bill" on the Senate floor by July. Other initiatives include, raising the cap on oil-spill liability to $10 billion, improvements in oil-worker safety, a toughening of environmental protections for offshore drilling and a further revamping of the Minerals Management Service.
