BP (NYSE:BP) Oil Spill 500,000 Less Barrels than Government Figures

Results of an independent study of how much oil was spilled by BP (NYSE:BP) into the Gulf came up about 500,000 barrels less than the government estimate of 4.9 million barrels. The new study asserted about 4.4 million barrels were released from the oil well.

The team published the results in the journal "Science," and said the new oil estimate came from watching the video of the oil escaping from the Gulf bottom.

Team leader Timothy Crone, from Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, and a marine geophysicist, pushed for the release of high resolution video from the cameras of BP, saying the raw footage from poorer resolution couldn't accurately measure the oil flow.

With availability of only some short high resolution video, the findings in this case do generate questions as to how accurate they are.

Researchers admitted, "We clearly acknowledge the limits of our technique; we're unlikely to ever know the exact figure."

Even though the figures were 500,000 barrels less than the government estimate, some are already suggesting it could be viewed as another situation of the government spinning the numbers.

Who cares? There are those who have already entered the conspiracy theory zone, and until they get the numbers that fit their desired narrative, nothing will be believed.

The Gulf cleaning up the oil naturally so quickly leaves it even harder to get an estimate. With the government figures saying almost 75 percent of the oil had left the Gulf (and that was a while ago), there is no way to confirm if measurements are accurate.

We will never know, and other than how much BP may have to pay in fines, it's largely irrelevant. It's more important to get it cleaned up than obsess with the accuracy of how many barrels spilled into the Gulf.

This seems to be scientists and university departments attempting to create a situation where they can attempt to get funding for their departments and pet projects.