Image via WikipediaOriginally published:
Unbelievable story from the Associated Press. Yep, our favorite mega-global conglomerate oil company will be making lemonade out of lemons from the oil spill (so to speak - kinda). Selling the spilled oil - yep, you got it. They'd better make sure every penny from every drop does go to relief efforts! See the story below:
Fill her up with spill oil? BP to sell leaked crude
Proceeds from gas station, grocery store sales to fund wildlife protection
 | Video |
 |
How much oil is flowing into Gulf? June 11: NBC’s Anne Thompson explains the murkiness of estimates of the oil flow rate, and why it matters to the response. Nightly News |
| Live video |
 | NBC News |
 | Environment news |
 Why Louisiana's wetlands are important David Muth, chief of planning and resource stewardship for Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve and Professor Larry McKinney, executive director at the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M in Corpus Christi, explain the importance of the Louisiana wetlands in protecting Greater New Orleans from storm surges and as a source of food for the entire country. |
 | Slideshow |
 | Gulf disaster Thousands of gallons of oil are gushing from the busted well, fouling the water and coastline. |
 | INTERACTIVE |
 |
Gulf oil spill graphics |
 |
| Slideshow |
 |
By RAY HENRY
updated 2 hours, 50 minutes ago
NEW ORLEANS - Oil from the worst spill in U.S. history could soon end up at gas stations, construction sites and even grocery stores once BP sells the crude taken from a ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico
to raise money for wildlife protection.
Energy giant BP announced this week it will donate its share of the proceeds generated by selling the oil captured from the well to fund efforts to protect and restore wildlife habitat along the Gulf Coast.
The company has not released specifics on how the fund will work and said it doesn't know how much money might be raised — but once the oil is brought to shore, it will creep into the world's economic supply chain unnoticed by consumers.
"Oil is oil," said Julius Langlinais, professor emeritus of petroleum engineering at Louisiana State University. "There's no stamp or anything on it. It's all the same molecules."
Scientists have estimated that anywhere between about 40 million gallons to 109 million gallons of oil have gushed into the Gulf since a drilling rig exploded April 20, killing 11 workers.
Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen , the Obama administration's point man for the oil spill, said that since the leak began, 4 million gallons of crude have been siphoned off the leaking well using tubes and caps. An additional 18 million gallons have been skimmed from the ocean surface, he said. The skimmed liquid is generally only 10 to 15 percent oil.
Hunt for a buyer
Negotiations were still ongoing Friday to find a buyer for all that captured oil, BP spokesman Mark Proegler said.
Negotiations were still ongoing Friday to find a buyer for all that captured oil, BP spokesman Mark Proegler said.
"There's nothing special about it, other than everyone's looking at it," he said.
|
Once that crude hits a refinery, the oil could end up in a wide array of fuels and products including gasoline, diesel, heating oil, asphalt and plastic — including the bags used at grocery stores, the cases for cell phone and microwaves. It also can be used as raw feed for chemical companies.
"I think it's an eye-opening experience for people who don't give it much thought when they finally realize how much their lives depend on oil," Langlinais said.
BP has said it plans to boost its ability to directly capture oil gushing from the well by early next week. A semi-submersible drilling rig would capture and burn up to 420,000 gallons of oil daily. Once on board, the oil and gas collected from the well will be sent down a boom and burned at sea.
A drill ship already at the scene can process a maximum of 756,000 gallons of oil daily that's sucked up through a containment cap sitting on the well head.
Federal officials are still reviewing BP's plan to build a new containment system designed to capture more oil and be more durable during hurricane season. Allen said the plan could be revised based on calculations of how much oil is spilling from the well.
Methanol lowers price
It's unclear how much the captured oil will be worth once it's sold. Oil was trading around $74 a barrel Friday, but BP officials said they expect to get a lower price than normal because the oil captured from the leak is laced with methanol.
It's unclear how much the captured oil will be worth once it's sold. Oil was trading around $74 a barrel Friday, but BP officials said they expect to get a lower price than normal because the oil captured from the leak is laced with methanol.
BP is injecting methanol as an antifreeze into the inside of the containment cap sitting over the gushing well to prevent the buildup of an ice-like slush that can clog the pipes.
Under its operating agreement, BP gets 65 percent of the net revenue made by selling oil from the leak site. After deducting for royalty payments owed to the government, it will donate its share of the proceeds to the wildlife fund.
Anadarko Petroleum Corp., which is entitled to 25 percent of the oil revenue, is still discussing what do with its share of the money when the oil is sold, Anadarko spokesman Matt Carmichael said.
"We're committed to doing the right thing," he said.
A subsidiary of Mitsui & Co. Ltd., which has a 10 percent stake, declined to comment.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Related articles by Zemanta
- Fill her up with spill oil? BP to sell leaked crude (msnbc.msn.com)
- Why BP Oil Spill Should Scare You More Than Osama Bin Laden Does (thatgirlisfunny.com)
- What Happens When BP Spills Coffee? (chris.pirillo.com)
- Can the BP Oil Spill Get Any Worse? Yes (dailyfinance.com)
- Former EPA Chief On Gulf Oil Spill: 'It's Going To Blow The Record Books Up' (huffingtonpost.com)
- Jon Stewart's Outlook on BP Gulf Spill: "We're So F*$ked" (Video) (treehugger.com)
- Oil Spill Could Be Twice As Bad As We Were Told (alan.com)
- The Worst Oil Disaster in US History: How You Can Help [Disaster] (gizmodo.com)
- Scale of BP oil leak revised up to 40,000 barrels a day (guardian.co.uk)
- Spill Oil to Seep Into Supply Chain as BP Sells It (abcnews.go.com)
++++++++++++++++++++++
