Barack Obama eating shrimp in Grand Isle, Lousiana, on his third visit in a week to the Gulf region affected by the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Photograph: Charles Dharapak/AP
More than 6,000 barrels of oil have been captured from the leak in the Gulf of Mexico as the containment cap BP clamped over the rupture seems to be working, the company announced yesterday.
The rate is still only about one-third of a day's flow from the leaking oil well, estimated at about 19,000 barrels per day, but represents the first significant progress in almost seven weeks.
Admiral Thad Allen of the US Coast Guard, who is in charge of the federal response to the oil spill, said yesterday that while engineers had had some success, they had been hesitant to close the vents. There is still a fear that water will rush in, meaning the pressure inside the cap would become so great that oil would blast through the imperfect seal.
"When we put the cap down, there were four vents on the cap that allow oil to escape that's not going up through the pipe," Allen said. "What you want is you want to keep oil in the containment cap and not let water in, because when water gets in you form hydrates."
BP and government officials have said it will take at least until today to fully deploy the device and make an accurate assessment of the amount of oil it can collect. BP estimated Friday's collection at 6,077 barrels. Company executives have said that, if all goes well, as much as 90% of the escaping oil may be contained by the cap, but most experts believe some oil will continue to escape until relief wells become operational in August.
In his weekly address, filmed in the small Louisiana village of Caminada Bay, President Barack Obama sought to display empathy with ordinary Americans as he continues to face criticism that the White House has not been engaged enough with the catastrophe. Against a backdrop of a fishing boat and a gentle breeze, he singled out individuals suffering from the effects of the spill: Floyd Lasseigne, whose oyster bed had been destroyed, and Terry Vegas, a shrimper.
The president went on to catalogue in emotive language the impact of the spill on hotels and shops, deprived of income as tourists stay away for fear of soiled beaches. "These folks work hard. They meet their responsibilities. But now because of a man-made catastrophe – one that's not their fault and that's beyond their control – their lives have been thrown into turmoil," he said. "It's brutally unfair. It's wrong."
Unlike George W. Bush, whose mishandled response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 damaged his administration and public image, BP remains the main target of public and political frustration. Its share price has been hit hard and it faces calls for a public boycott. Obama, too, has been increasingly willing to attack BP and has threatened a criminal investigation. "If laws were broken, those responsible will be brought to justice," he said yesterday. "We will make sure they pay every single dime owed to the people along the Gulf coast."
BP CEO Tony Hayward reiterated yesterday on the company Twitter account that BP would pay all "legitimate" claims. The company estimated it would spend $84m through June to compensate for lost wages and profits.
In his radio address, Obama warned against premature optimism that the spill will be contained
