BP refuses to allow accurate gusher measurements

Perhaps it’s time for the Obama Administration to put some teeth behind the angry tone directed at BP and try to force them to accurately measure the rate of oil blasting into the Gulf. BP’s stubborn refusal to come off of their 5,000 barrel per day estimate is, according to a piece in The Atlantic, “at once laughably and horrifyingly low.”

Even when the company, Coast Guard and NOAA initially came out with that figure based upon surface analysis, independent scientists proclaimed that it was actually 25,000 barrels. And after BP released the video of the gusher, some of those scientists revised their estimate, to 80,000 per day!

BP got a dose of reality when the New York Times reported last week that they were sending a team of scientists to deploy ultrasonic equipment to measure the volume of gas and oil.

But then, BP abruptly canceled the mission because accurate measurements would only serve to distract from plugging the spill. "The answer to that is no," said a spokesman.

If the government can send SWAT teams to platforms to investigate safety on other rigs,  why can’t they send an independent team to measure the volume? Would CEO Tony Heyward and his minions send their robot subs to prevent this?