On August 21, 2009 the Montara Well off Western Australia blew out. Oil, natural gas and gas condensate spilled until November 1, when the fourth attempt to intersect the well succeeded. The well had a state of the art platform and drilling rig. The image above projects a Montara sized oil spill on the East Coast of the United States.
The Obama team knew this when it pushed for deepwater drilling off the East Coast and Florida's Gulf Coast. When White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said "accidents happen," was he referring to the Australian experience?
The question remains, how large with the DeepWater Horizon spill get? How many months will oil flow unchecked in the Gulf of Mexico? What happens when hurricanes or tropical storms pass through the area?
While the Obama response looks rather Bush-like, they've changed position from full speed ahead on deepwater drilling. Where's Sarah Palin when you need her? The Alaska Governor successfully knocked down the Exxon Valdez spill from 11 million gallons of crude to 11,000 gallons of fuel in a CSPAN interview. The power of words.
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