Re: Chevron confirms Gulf of Mexico oil leak
New oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico
Tags:
Gulf of Mexico,
Commentary,
Society,
oil spill,
World
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Frolova Inessa
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Sep 15, 2011 13:22 Moscow Time
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A new oil-related emergency has occurred in the long-suffering Gulf of Mexico. An equipment failure and subsequent leak was registered at a pipeline network owned by the Chevron Corporation. Three weeks earlier, another spill occurred near one of BP?s platforms. The region that has just started recovering from the environmental tragedy of 2010 found itself on the verge of a new disaster.
On September 14th, US oil giant Chevron was compelled to suspend oil extraction at one of its two platforms located in the Gulf of Mexico. The company has not yet informed the media about possible causes of the incident and the volume of oil leaking into the sea. Louisiana supervisory agencies say they are following the situation and major ecological damage has been so far avoided.
Experts fail to agree with such an approach, however. If no oil slicks are visible on the surface, it does not necessarily imply a minor leak, according to Igor Shkradyuk of the Wildlife Conservation Center.
"The worst-case scenario is a spill stuck between waters with different density, a spill invisible for people that will spread to vast territories. And then, resulting from the changed underwater situation, this oil may come to the surface in the most unexpected places," explains Igor Shkradyuk.
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http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/09/15/56202259.html