Hurricane Alex Isn't BP's Only Worry These Days in Gulf Waters

BP plc (BP-$28.88) spokesperson Toby Odone acknowledged to reporters last week that the 45-ton blow-out preventer sitting atop the damaged Macondo wellbore was leaning, up to 15 degrees by some accounts.

We know little about the underlying geology of the spill site in the Gulf of Mexico, as BP has held that information close, claiming that it’s “proprietary” data. Scientists are clamoring for BP to publicly release geological survey data on the underlying “Lower Teriary” formations (rock layer formed 65 million to 250 million years ago). Remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) are streaming video feeds of high pressure columns of oil and gas bubbling up from fissures in the sea floor — which outside scientists fear could be flowing from stress fractures in the underground piping.

Could an already weakened sea bottom beyond the wellbore (eroded by up to 100,000 pounds per square inch of corrosive fluid pressure seeking escape upward from the leaks in the undersea piping) crack wide open like ice on a pond, spewing millions of additional barrels of oil into Gulf waters? Read More …

Editor David J Phillips does not hold a financial interest in any stocks mentioned in this article. The 10Q Detective has a Full Disclosure Policy.