The Gulf of Mexico oil spill is still continuing even after almost 50 days despite various efforts and resources being invested in controlling it. The Interior Department (USA) has estimated that at least 12000 to 19000 barrels of oil are flowing from the oil well everyday into the sea. This however is the absolute lower limit. BP PLC which was working on the off shore oil rig has undertaken full responsibility of damage control. Tony Hayward the Chief Executive of the company, which turned a profit of 17bn $ last year reportedly said that, “The strength of cash-flow generation in recent quarters has provided us with a balance sheet that allows us to fully take on the responsibility for the Gulf of Mexico response,”.
The spill has got President Obama; he was reported to have visited the affected region for a third time since the disaster. According to the White House press office, President Obama will travel to Mississippi, Alabama and Florida on June 14 and 15 to further assess the latest efforts to counter the oil spill. Obama who has been facing a lot of criticism regarding the lack of an active response by his administration to the disaster said in an interview to ABC news, “I don’t sit around talking to experts because this is a college seminar. We talk to these people … So I know whose ass to kick”. He also said that proper compensation to all the victims should be given by BP. Furthermore the house speaker Nancy Pelosi has set a “strict timetable for lawmakers to act on bills to cope with the Gulf oil spill and prevent similar disasters” reported the Huffington Post on 6th June.
According to AOL news BP is spending close to $25 million everyday and its total expenditure so far has been around 1.25bn $. Besides the money spent on various off shore and onshore containment strategies, BP also announced a commitment of up to $500 million for an open research program studying the impact of the Deepwater Horizon incident, and its associated response, on the marine and shoreline environment of the Gulf of Mexico. BP will also donate the net revenue from oil recovered from the spill to form a new wildlife fund to ‘create, restore, improve and protect wildlife habitat’ along the coastline of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. The creation of this fund is over and above BP’s obligations under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.