Gulf Oil Leak: Now 60,000 Barrels of Oil a Day

Yet another estimate on the amount of oil spewing from BP’s busted rig has been released. It is not good news. About 60,000 barrels of oil are escaping each day, according to a government panel. That’s like having an Exxon Valdez-sized accident every four days. (Last week the flow was estimated at 25,000 to 30,000 barrels a day; for the first weeks of the spill, the oil giant and the government insisted only 5,000 barrels a day were escaping.) The new number—which equals about 2.5 million gallons a day—makes BP’s capturing of 15,000 barrels a day look a bit less impressive. The company plans to get new equipment by late June to collect 40,000 barrels a day, and by mid-July plans to get that number up to 60,000. If the new flow estimate is right, and BP is found to have been grossly negligent, it could be fined $258 million a day.