Higher and higher

The leakage estimate goes…

According to an Associated Press report:

Researchers studying the flow of oil from the blown-out well at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico said Thursday that as much as twice the amount of oil than previously thought may have been spewing into the sea since an oil rig exploded nearly two months ago.

It is the third — and perhaps not last — time the federal government has had to increase its estimate of how much oil is gushing.

The spill — before June 3 when a riser was cut and then a cap put on it — was flowing at daily rate that could possibly have been as high as 2.1 million gallons, twice the highest number the federal government had been saying, according to U.S. Geological Survey Director Marcia McNutt, who is coordinating estimates.

I wonder what conclusions BP's risk analysts drew when they estimated the money BP would need to pay if a worst case event occurred? How likely was this kind of catastrophe given BP's common practices and the risks they entail? Did BP and its executives bet the company on what appear to be questionable practices? I ask because it is reasonable to conclude that damages caused by this disaster will, when monetized, exceed BP's capacity to pay.

Update

CNN reports that protesters and spontaneous boycotts now threaten BP branded gas stations in the United States.

Last updated on June 13, 2010 at 5:32PM