BP disputes existence of underwater oil plumes

The Watergate strategy of denial and obstruction always backfires so why does BP continue to follow that playbook in the Deepwater Horizon disaster? And rather than learn from their self-inflicted wounds they continue to dig an ever-deepening PR hole. Their latest attempt to downplay the story is to deny scientists' claims of enormous plumes of oil deep in the Gulf of Mexico from the gushing wellhead. 

“The oil is on the surface. There aren’t any plumes,” said BP CEO Tony Heyward.

Scientists from a number of universities say the evidence blows his statement out of the water. They cite evidence of several plumes, one of which is 22 miles by six miles and over a thousand feet deep.

According to Heyward, that’s impossible because oil is lighter than water and always floats on the surface. However, scientists say that the use of chemical dispersants to break up the spill may actually have reduced the buoyancy of the oil and hold it well below the surface.

This is the latest example of the company disputing scientific evidence of the enormous magnitude of the unfolding environmental disaster. Early on the company stubbornly stuck to the estimate of 5,000 barrels of oil gushing per day despite all independent evidence proving the rate was several times that amount.

The company also claimed that the hundreds of temp cleanup workers bused in for the day Friday during President Obama's visit to Grand Isle, Louisiana, was not just a publicity stunt.
 
Source: Associated Press