As the Oil Flows

By Andrew C. Revkin

3:36 p.m. | Updated
There is a long-running soap opera, due to culminate this fall after 54 years, called “As the World Turns.”

As the World TurnsEd Stout/The New York Times

Now there’s an oil opera, “As the Oil Flows,” brought to you by BP via a “spillcam” after lawmakers pressed the company to send its nonstop video feeds from the seabed gusher to the public.

oil videoBP A still from the live video tracking the oil gusher in the Gulf of Mexico seabed.
The next 48 hours could be particularly gripping, as the Deepwater Horizon Response team, closely supervised by the Obama administration, runs the “top kill” procedure that is one of the last options on the short list of techniques that might choke off the flow from the ruptured well.

But, as in all live television, there can be glitches and surprises, and BP put out advance word cautioning that imagery of the daunting procedure should not be over-interpreted by eager viewers (as happened with some video in recent days):

Very significant changes in the appearance of the flows at the seabed may be expected. These will not provide a reliable indicator of the overall progress, or success or failure, of the top kill operation as a whole. BP will report on the progress of the operation as appropriate and on its outcome when complete. Read more…

As heavy drilling mud is pumped through the well in hopes of overcoming the upward force from the pressurized oil and gas, one can only hope there will be a telegenic high-five moment for the hard-working engineers working relentlessly on the crisis since late April. Residents around the Gulf of Mexico could use a finale with more oomph than the last episode of “Lost.”

If that moment does not come, and the “junk shot” option doesn’t do the trick, then President Obama faces a truly tough moment on Friday, when he plans to visit the increasingly soiled shores of the Gulf of Mexico for the second time since the blowout.

I’ll post a piece later today reflecting on his choices at that point.