Tropical Storm May Threaten BP?s Spill Cleanup, Disperse Oil
June 22, 2010, 7:19 AM EDT
Source: http://www.businessweek.com/news/201...perse-oil.html
By Stuart Biggs and Jeremy van Loon. (Bloomberg) -- The first storm of the Atlantic hurricane season may enter the Gulf of Mexico as soon as next week, possibly disrupting BP Plc?s efforts to clean up the worst oil spill in U.S. history.
Thunderstorms in the Caribbean may strengthen into a tropical storm this week before heading into the Gulf between Mexico and Cuba, said Jim Rouiller, a senior energy meteorologist at Planalytics Inc. in Berwyn, Pennsylvania.
?The first named tropical storm of the 2010 season appears more likely to form over the northwestern Caribbean late this week and will go on to represent a formidable threat to the Gulf, along with heightening concerns about the oil slick,? Rouiller said in an e-mail yesterday.
Forecasters are predicting ...
Scientists don?t agree on the effect of storms on oil spills...
BP Response
BP is developing a new containment response that will help clean-up operators to connect and disconnect oil-recovery systems faster, allowing the company to capture more oil ahead of and following a storm, said John Pack, a BP spokesman in London. Some of the changes will be ready before July, he said.
Hurricane Season
AccuWeather Inc. yesterday boosted its forecast for the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season to 18 to 21 named storms, up from 16 to 18, and said at least three will move through the region affected by the oil spill. There have been five seasons with 18 or more storms in 160 years of record-keeping, AccuWeather said in an e-mailed statement.
Fishing Closed
The U.S. has closed 36 percent of federal waters in the Gulf to fishing following the oil spill, equivalent to 86,985 square miles (225,290 square kilometers).
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[For update information on and storm tracking go to National Hurricane Ctr: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/]
Also see for storm tracking predictions http://www.wunderground.com/tropical...093_model.html
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