If Senator Nelson is correct about the breach of fundamental well integrity, the game is close to over for the Gulf of Mexico. We shall see where this goes from Nelson’s initial comment. But make no mistake, Nelson is a careful guy not prone to overt hyperbole, and he clearly understood the ramifications of what he was saying.
It also means, of course, that BP and the Obama Administrations continue to give the American public short shrift in the truth and honesty departments. How surprising.
This echoes what Matt Simmons has been saying for a while. That the amount of oil in the Gulf is far more than what could have leaked from the pipe everyone has been focused on, so therefore there must be other leaks. He also says that “leak” is the wrong word, what happened at Deepwater was a blowout, and he thinks the sea floor may have ruptured.