Thune Comments on Oil Leak
Local News
by
Stephany Beshara
last edited on
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
BP has started its most ambitious effort to seal the oil leak in the gulf with the "top kill" method.
Wednesday afternoon BP started pumping 50,000 pounds of thick fluid twice the density of water into a stack of pipes hoping to clog the well and stop the flow of oil that has been streaming into the Gulf of Mexico for more than a month.
BP says the top kill has worked on above-ground oil wells, but has never been tried 5,000 feet underwater.
South Dakota Republican Senator John Thune says we need to learn from this mistake and make sure companies regulating the oil companies are really doing their job.
“There are clearly, I think, some issues with regard to the relationship between the oil companies and their regulators that we're going to have to drill down and get to the bottom of and clearly create a better mechanism to see the regulatory and safety aspects of that relationship and make sure there is sufficient separation,” says Thune.
It could take up to two days. If it works, the well will be sealed shut with cement.
Other attempts to stop the oil flow have failed.
If the top kill fails, there will be intense pressure for the Obama Administration to take serious action to stop the leak.