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Rick's List
Capping the Leak
Aired May 27, 2010 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: This is a special edition of RICK'S LIST.
Will top kill work? Can they patch this disastrous leak?
BILLY NUNGESSER, PRESIDENT, PLAQUEMINES PARISH, LOUISIANA: We want results. We're tired of getting promises.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What are we going to do? How are we going to survive?
SANCHEZ: Fingers crossed, tempers flare.
TONY HAYWARD, CEO, BP GROUP: We rate the probability of success as somewhere between 60 and 70 percent.
SANCHEZ: Why is it being run by this guy?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go in, completely take over, perhaps with the military in charge.
SANCHEZ: We're drilling down on this RICK'S LIST special edition: "Capping the Leak."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: And here we go. Hello again, everybody. I'm Rick Sanchez.
I'm going to be joined by several guests. And, as usual, Chad Myers is going to be here to take us through the next couple of hours as we start to get a better idea of exactly what's going on 5,000 feet into the Gulf of Mexico.
I should tell you as well that Satish Nagarajaiah, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Rice University, is going to be joining us as well.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Awesome.
SANCHEZ: And you know what's amazing?
Boy, Professor, you nailed it. Almost all the things that you were on the air describing to us here yesterday seem to have come true. I mean, it's going not so much according to BP's plan, but certainly according to the calculations that you literally made in your head on the air yesterday as we were going through this story.
Stand by, because you're going to be hearing more from the professor in just a moment.
But let me tell you where we are.
(CROSSTALK)
SATISH NAGARAJAIAH, RICE UNIVERSITY: Rick, I want to --
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: I'm sorry, Professor?
NAGARAJAIAH: I wanted to add one thing. You know, I stated yesterday one barrel per minute. I meant to say one barrel per second.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: We thank you, sir, for clearing that up, and we're going to get back on the actual calculations in just a moment.
Now, here's where we are, folks. According to BP, top kill has now been going for 25 hours, which is the same as what we had told you yesterday. We went on the air at 3:00. This thing had started an hour before we went on the air.
You are now looking at the live pictures from several angles of exactly what is going on 5,000 feet below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico. There's the angles that are being supplied to us, fewer than the ones that we saw yesterday.
But let's key in once again on the one all the way over on the top row left, obviously enough. Look at that right there. And look at that wrench that you see, that big, giant, vice grip-looking thing that seems to be on some kind of robotic arm. Stay tuned, because I'm going to be taking you through that in just a minute.
But let me tell you what is most important at this point, folks. There seems to be evidence that this mud that is pushing the oil and the gas down by filling the underwater and underground mine is working. There seems to be some success.
Now, that's a relative term, before we get too excited about that -- that word. Success has been used by BP. How much, that's what we hope to find out during this hour and possibly the next.
And let me explain this to you again. As they inject more and more mud into that tube -- and I will just use my example once again here, Chad -- as they inject more and more mud down into this tube, they are hoping the mud will win. Think about that. They want the mud to win in a battle against oil and gas. And here's what I mean by that. At the point in which the mud, again, being pushed down this way, has enough downward pressure, I mean, at the point at which the downward pressure being exerted by this mud is equal to or greater than the upward pressure that's being exerted by the oil and gas, then they will say voila, and they will inject cement into it to try and cap the leak once and for all, so it will stop blowing out the top, so to speak.
In fact, let me show you the very latest that we have gotten from BP. And, Professor and Chad, this is where I need you guys to help us out. Here's what BP says, Professor. The procedure will take now 24 to 48 hours -- Gee, who said that yesterday? You, Professor -- to complete, not the 10 hours that some had suggested the day before.
So far, they say -- quote -- "It has been a success" in that they have established the architecture and the equipment that they have created. It has worked and they have established that they can pump the mud. Then they went on to say that, at some time today -- they suggested it would be around noon -- I don't know if in fact that's happened -- the bridging material will in theory block the path of the drilling mud, essentially clogging the BOP, forcing it downward.
So, those are the two comments that we have today gotten from BP.
Professor, we will begin with you. And then, Chad, I will go to you.
What does that -- what do you surmise from that reading, sir?
NAGARAJAIAH: What is -- what's clear now is that they have established -- they have stabilized the well. They are able to pump fluid into the well at a steady rate, and they are able to maintain pressure readings fairly constant.
And that is a very good sign. The longer that happens, the better it is, because the probability of some kind of failure occurring or some kind of a pressure surge occurring goes down as time passes.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Well, it sounds --
NAGARAJAIAH: Coming to your --
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: It sounds like they -- the point that you were making yesterday -- pardon me for interrupting -- the point that you were making yesterday is, you said to myself and to Chad, they have to reach equilibrium. They have to reach a point at which the pressure from the top, from the mud, is equal to the pressure from the bottom being exerted by the oil and the gas.
I take it that we're not there yet?
NAGARAJAIAH: Absolutely, Rick. You're right.
You have got it absolutely right. They have not reached the point yet. But the good news is, there is no bad news. That's the good news. And they are able to pump mud without forming any kinds of formation compromise or pressure surge or anything like that. That is good news.
SANCHEZ: Chad, let me bring you into this conversation. And I want to -- you guys in the studio, could you show our viewers at home the difference between the pictures when this operation started of what the mud looked like. Do we have that on tape?
See -- put that up, Rog, real quick.
Chad, all right -- OK, exactly. Thank you. But on the left is the picture live streaming right now. On the right is what it looked like yesterday before this operation began.
Chad, take it away.
MYERS: Professor, the one on the left, is that what mud looks like?
NAGARAJAIAH: It's a mixture of mud and oil.
MYERS: Yes.
NAGARAJAIAH: So, that's why you see a different color.
MYERS: Now, they call this a dynamic seal, which means it really isn't sealed at all, because part of this mud is in fact leaking out. And the other part, we hope most of the part, is going down to put pressure on the oil.
What if this just keeps -- half the mud just keeps going? This could take a very long time. They're not going to stop and say, oh, well, let's see if it's OK or not. They may pump this for another couple of days, don't you think?
NAGARAJAIAH: I think so. You're right. Some of the mud is leaking out. Some is going into the well.
The idea is that eventually there will be enough mud in the well to counteract the force from the formation pressure which Rick alluded to. If that happens, then, of course, they have -- they have progressed a little further. That doesn't mean that they will be able to stop the leak completely. That will be a point at which can start considering pumping more mud, so that they can actually stop the flow initially, equilibrate the two forces, and then eventually pump cement into the well, so that they can plug it.
MYERS: The pressure you talk about, in my head, I believe the pressure that's coming from the mud is from gravity, right? It's the weight of the mud pushing down on the artesian pressure of the well. Do we have that right?
SANCHEZ: And before -- Professor, before you answer that, we're going to sneak a break in. Both of us will come back.
MYERS: Sure. Think about it.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Yes, exactly. Chad will come back with that -- with that answer or that question as well. And, hopefully, you will be able to take us through this.
I should let you know as well there's another part of this story that developed today. There's been a potential possible firing -- I'm being very careful how I modify that word -- with some of the folks who were in charge of regulating this industry. And I'm going to take you through that in a minute.
And then the president of the United States came forward, and he spoke and tried to definitively answer the questions as to whether he has been in charge of this operation or not and whether he and his administration has done enough. We're going to be all over that as well when we come back. And there's a lot to say.
Also, take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BILL NELSON (D), FLORIDA: If this thing is not fixed today, I think the president doesn't have any choice, and he better go in, completely take over, perhaps with the military in charge.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: With the military in charge. That's Senator Bill Nelson. He wants the Obama administration to take over if BP's top kill doesn't work. What could Nelson do differently? That's the question that we're asking today.
And, also, we're keeping our eyes glued to this live feed for all the latest developments. Now, you notice that Chad and I were just making a point, along with the professor, that the residue, the color of this today is very different from what it was yesterday. It's redder.
It looks muddier. The muddier, the redder it gets, we would presume the more indication that this operation seems to be working, but, folks, we're not there yet and we're going to take you to it. This is your national conversation. This is your list. I'm Rick Sanchez. And this is RICK'S LIST.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, Rick, this is (INAUDIBLE) again (INAUDIBLE) Florida.
I'm just curious why there's no CNN coverage of the people on the boat pumping the concrete down. These people are playing trickery in the past. Everybody is watching these pictures. If nobody is watching them put the concrete in, how do we know they're putting concrete in?
(END AUDIO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: And welcome back.
Let's catch up on a couple of things first. First to the video. Let's look at that screen that shows all the different images of what's going on underneath the Gulf of Mexico. And you will see there that there are a couple of more images that are popping up.
Remember yesterday, when we first started, there were fewer and then as we went forward there were even more? Obviously, the one on the top left we have been talking about. Now we have another there on the top right. And we're going to be discussing that with Chad and the good professor in just a moment.
But let me bring you up to date on some of the politics of the day as well. As you probably know, the president has been getting a whole lot of heat and today he fired back on this Gulf situation.
First, here's an example of the heat. I want you to listen on our air to Louisiana native James Carville.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES CARVILLE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: This president needs to tell BP, I'm your daddy. I'm in charge. You're going to do what we say. You're a multinational company that is greedy, and you may be guilty of criminal activity.
President Obama needs to understand that BP does not wish him well, that the United States government is in charge of this. I said yesterday he's got to be the daddy in this relationship. And they -- and BP has got to understand that.
They are not the United States government. They don't wish us well. They're responsible for this cleanup. The president needs to look them in the eye and say, hire contractors, fix this, and write checks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: OK. So, who's your daddy? What happened today?
The director of Minerals Management Services out, Elizabeth Birnbaum. she was either fired or she resigned. There seem to be some conflicting reports about this that we at CNN have been chasing down all day. That's important.
Then the president stepped forward, came before reporters at a microphone for a lengthy afternoon news conference, and he answered charges like the one that you just heard about the daddy situation with James Carville. And he explained -- his word -- that he is in charge.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The day that the rig collapsed and fell to the bottom of the ocean, I had my team in the Oval Office that first day. Those who think that we were either slow on our response or lacked urgency don't know the facts. This has been our highest priority since this crisis occurred.
Personally, I'm briefed every day, and have probably had more meetings on this issue than just about any issue since we did our Afghan review. And we understood from day one the potential enormity of this crisis and acted accordingly.
So when it comes to the moment this crisis occurred, moving forward, this entire White House and this entire federal government has been singularly focused on how do we stop the leak and how do we prevent and mitigate the damage to our coastlines.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: And, by the way, the president also commented on the lack of regulation that may have led up to the leak. He said that there's cozy and corrupt -- cozy and corrupt relationship, and it meant little or no regulation at all.
So, as a result -- and here's the upshot. Here's the news out of all of this. As a result of all of this, he seems to be saying that he should not have trusted the oil companies when he decided to expand drilling, and, as a result, you can all forget my expanded drilling initiative.
So, everything's "ixnay nixsay" for now. More information on that obviously forthcoming.
Back to Chad and Professor Satish, as we try and figure out what's going on 5,000 feet below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico.
Let's put the picture back up.
And, Chad, explain your question once again, because I just got a bunch of tweets from people saying, hey, wait, I want to hear the answer. So, here you go.
(LAUGHTER)
MYERS: Well, this is another picture that we have been seeing. And this is another picture of what I would consider a muddy picture. This is where the insertion tube was. And, Rick, we used to look at that picture and there was black coming out one side and white coming the other.
We knew that this over here was the natural gas and coming over here was -- I don't see any black and white at all. All I see is brown. And if that's the color of the mud that they're pumping in, somebody is winning. SANCHEZ: That's a good sign.
MYERS: That's a good sign.
SANCHEZ: It's not the definitive good sign.
MYERS: No.
SANCHEZ: But it's a good sign.
MYERS: Correct.
SANCHEZ: Right.
MYERS: So, back to my question, Professor. The pressure that we're talking about that's pushing the oil back down in the well, literally, is really just weight of this heavier-than-water, heavier- than-oil, I guess, solution which they call mud that's just putting -- and when we get enough of it, then the weight is enough to push it down.
There's not some kind of like pressure tubes that they're trying to pressure it down by one pressure and another pressure. It's the weight of the mud going down by gravity, right?
NAGARAJAIAH: You're absolutely right, yes.
You know, the pressure down there -- the formation pressure is about 30,000 (ph) PSI.
MYERS: Wow.
NAGARAJAIAH: So, if you can actually clear the pressure using the mark about 30,000 (ph) PSI, then you have neutralized the pressure from the formation, and you -- Rick is right. You have essentially neutralized the formation pressure. And you get control of the well. And that's what they're attempting to do now.
(CROSSTALK)
NAGARAJAIAH: This is purely by gravity.
MYERS: Why are they banging that pipe with a wrench?
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Yes. What is that wrench all about?
MYERS: They have been doing it all day.
SANCHEZ: We keep looking at the picture with the wrench. Are they trying to loosen? What is that?
NAGARAJAIAH: No. No.
(LAUGHTER) NAGARAJAIAH: No. They're trying to monitor the pressure at the point of exit of those leaks.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Oh.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: So, that wrench has nothing to do with the operation? It's just there in case they need it for something else?
NAGARAJAIAH: Then they're measuring the pressure at the point of exit of the oil, gas and mud.
SANCHEZ: I see. And why is that important, Professor, to understand exactly what that pressure is?
(CROSSTALK)
NAGARAJAIAH: Because remember I told you they need -- they need to monitor the pressure above the blowout preventer. That's this valve that's malfunctioning, and also below that the wellhead. And they're doing that actively by using this, you know, sort of a stab, if you will.
They stab it down, measure the pressure, and then keep monitoring that way, because, remember, the pressure gauges on BOP are malfunctioning. They can't use those.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Professor, hang tight. We're continuing our conversation with us three. And we're also going to be joined momentarily by Senator Bill Nelson, who's been one of the leading voices on trying to find a way to get this situation fixed. And he hasn't exactly been modest in his criticisms of BP. We will have him here with -- the good senator with us in just a moment.
Meanwhile, take a look at this that we have got forthcoming.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NUNGESSER: It's like it's being run with a bunch of seventh- graders. This is absolutely ridiculous and unacceptable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Top Louisiana parish leader says there's no federal leadership on this spill. He's sick and tired of it. He's going to be joining me here live as well. And, man, talk about a guy who has got plenty to say and an interesting way of saying it.
Also, if BP's top kill doesn't work, should President Obama then have some kind of military option? And what would that be? We're going to talk about that as well. Senator Nelson joins us next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Joining us now, Bill Nelson, senator from the great state of Florida. I always say that with a smile on my face because I grew up in Florida. And he and I have known each and we have done a lot of work together on television, broadcast television, obviously, doing news for many years now.
You have been the loudest critic of BP from the very beginning. There seem to be, Senator, two things going on today. First of all, it's starting to look -- and the fingers are still crossed, sir -- it's starting to look like this thing could possibly lead to a successful resolution.
What is your take on that?
SEN. BILL NELSON (D), FLORIDA: Well, prayerfully hopeful.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
NELSON: And, if it is, then I think the question is, how much oil is out there? And, of course, you have seen the new report today that there could be five times as much as the 5,000 barrels a day that they have been talking about.
If that's the case, there's going to be cleanup for a long period of time all over the Gulf, possibly on the East Coast. If this thing is not plugged today, then the president is going to have to do more than he said today.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Well, speaking of -- speaking of what he said today, let's let our audience listen to some of that, and then I'm going to have you react to it. I'm looking at some different cuts here.
You know, I think what's interesting is the second one, cut two, SOT two, Roger. This is where the president says, you know what? I probably shouldn't have trusted these guys to begin with.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Where I was wrong was in my belief that the oil companies had their act together when it came to worst-case scenarios.
Now, that wasn't based on just my blind acceptance of their statements. Oil drilling has been going on in the gulf, including deepwater, for quite some time. And the record of accidents like this, we hadn't seen before.
But it just takes one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Finish the sentence for the president of the United States, if you would, Senator Nelson.
NELSON: It's a lesson learned.
(LAUGHTER)
NELSON: And, oh, by the way, I'm glad folks were protecting the waters off of the state of Florida.
SANCHEZ: Yes. Well, you know, it's interesting, because the president is literally coming forward and saying, I should haven't trusted these guys. I should have made sure -- we should -- somebody should have known that this was happening.
And then today -- maybe you can help us with this -- we're hearing two stories, one that she's been fired and another one that Elizabeth Birnbaum has in fact resigned. I'm not sure it really matters all that much, but in the end, what does it say about Minerals Management Service?
NELSON: It says that it is the incestuous, cozy relationship that everybody known that has been going on for 10 years.
And it also says that the president has told Secretary Salazar to clean house. And it's about time. Rick, you just can't imagine. Back, in the last decade, it has just been unbelievable, the sex parties. All of this is I.G., inspector general reports, the one that came out in '08, the one that just came out last month, the one that just came out yesterday about the resolving door coming out of industry, going into the regulators office and MMS, and then the door resolves and they go back out into industry again.
SANCHEZ: So, when you say incestuous, you mean incestuous?
(LAUGHTER)
NELSON: I -- according to that I.G. report in 2008, it meant exactly that, sex, booze, drugs, tickets, I mean, all kinds of stuff.
SANCHEZ: So, given where we are right now, it seems like, because of what you just described, and because of what's happened in the Gulf, Senator, the president of the United States is now backing off his drilling initiative.
Two questions -- two-part question. First of all, is that a good thing, you think? And, B, at what point do we go back in the business of deepwater drilling? What has to be -- what has to be done to assure you, as a senator from Florida, it's OK to get back into this business, if at all?
NELSON: The answer to the first question is amen. It's a good thing that he's backing off the drilling because of these potential disasters.
And the second question is, what has done to be is, we have to make these safe. So, let's go make sure that the backup safety systems work, and let's do more. Let's go to other people that have been doing this and doing it safely.
For example, Norway, they require acoustic backup safety systems for the blowout preventer. Or what about this? A number of European companies require, when you drill the exploratory drill, simultaneously, you are drilling the relief well, so that, if the first one blows, you have got the relief well that you can drill in almost immediately.
SANCHEZ: Interesting points. You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to let you go.
But, when I come back, I'm going to ask Professor Satish about those two possibilities, drilling a relief well while drilling the initial well, and at the same time the acoustic backup, I think you said, I'm going to ask him about that as well.
You have been very gracious to join us once again, Senator Nelson. And we will be in touch very soon, I'm sure.
There's the president of the United States. Now, did his news conference today provide evidence that there's been enough government leadership on the oil crisis?
There's one guy who doesn't think so, parish President Billy Nungesser. He has said it has been absent, the president, the administration, the government's response. I'm going to be talking to him in just a little bit. He's making our LIST.
And then a person affected by the oil rig explosion is on our list of most intriguing people in the news today. We're going to tell you who this is.
Stay right there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: And we welcome you back to RICK'S LIST
This is the picture of the day. It's one you no doubt will be seeing a lot. Now what is encouraging about this particular picture is that we're now looking at what seems to be more of a muddy substance coming from the bottom of the Gulf as opposed to an oily, smoky looking substance.
And the reason that's important is that could possibly mean that the pressure of the mud is starting to exert itself into the oil and natural gas that's coming out from below the surface. Eventually when there's enough of that pressure, they might be able to cap this thing with some type of cement.
In face I'll read you what BP said today. They said "So far it has been a success in that we have established the architecture and equipment they have created has worked and have established that they can pump the mud." And that's what they're doing, they're pumping the mud. How much more do they still need to pump? How much pressure? At what point do they meet that equilibrium that we've been talking about? Not sure, but we've got somebody who might have some pretty good ideas, and that's Professor Satish, and he's going to be joining me in just a moment.
First though, time to check the list of the most intriguing people in the news today. And we're talking about a man today whose heart is broken.
His son Gordon was one of the 11 oil well workers kill when the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and burned and fell into the ocean. Today he took his heartbreak to Capitol Hill and implored Congress to punish those responsible on behalf of his son by hitting them in the only place they're really going to feel it, their wallet.
Listen to this. This is a grieving dad today on Capitol Hill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEITH JONES, SON KILLED ON GULF OIL RIG: Please believe me -- no amount of money will ever compensate us for Gordon's loss. We know that. But payment of damages by wrongdoers is the only means we have in this country to make things right.
Make them hurt where their heart would be if they had a heart.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: "If they had a heart." Keith Jones testified today before the House committee that will decide who's to blame for the disaster and how to hold them accountable. That comes later.
Keith Jones, mourning the loss of a loved one. His testimony puts him on the list of the most intriguing person in the news on this day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Time is not on our side, so I think the federal government needs to unleash all of the capabilities we have to include bringing in more National Guard and regular troops that could reinforce the coast guard effort.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Is there a government solution to capping the oil leak? I'm going to ask a general who commanded the military response to hurricane Katrina. And you know that General Russell Onere certainly always has something to say. He'll join us in just a moment as well.
Stay right there. This is your national conversation, RICK'S LIST
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Once again, I want you to take a look at some of the oil that is now gushing. You see it right there behind me.
Now, look at the hue of that, look at the residue. This is important. As you look at that color, you start to try and figure out what's different? Well, I'm going to see if we can show you the picture from earlier in the day -- pardon me, not earlier in the day, but from yesterday before this operation actually began prior to 2:00.
Roger, see if you can get those two together. I want to bring in Professor Satish once again. Professor, is it definitive that if what's coming out of the ground today looks more ready, looks more in hue like mud as opposed to what we were looking at yesterday -- there it is, that's what it looked like yesterday on the left, that's what's coming out right now on the right.
What's the significance of this professor?
PROF. SATISH NAGARAJAIAH, CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING, RICE UNIVERSITY: It signifies that they were able to, you know, stabilize the well. They have good circulation going on. And in this circulation, oil and mud is getting mixed, and so the well is still leaking, but now it's a mixture of oil and mud. And, you know, that's what it signifies.
SANCHEZ: Now, at some point will we be able to say, if we tried to quantify this, that because the hue is getting more intense, more red, when it looks even more muddy, that that's an even better sign?
NAGARAJAIAH: Yes, you know, that's one sign of progress. But eventually, of course, they have to have readings, pressure readings from above and below, and from that they can make out that they're getting full control of the well. It means that two forces acting, equilibrating, and then they can say definitively that they've got control of the well.
SANCHEZ: And in the end, if I was to take a spring, let me see if there's a spring in this pen. I can't even open it. Do you have a spring on you? I feel like Monte Hall.
(LAUGHTER)
If I was to -- if this were a spring, professor, and I started squeezing it -- you know how when you first start squeezing it, it's easy to squeeze, but when you get to the very end, it's like there's more pressure and it's harder to squeeze. Is that kind of the same thing that's going to happen with the pressure from the mud competing with the pressure from the oil and gas, sir?
NAGARAJAIAH: Perfect, Rick, you got it.
SANCHEZ: Really.
NAGARAJAIAH: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Wow, I'm on a roll today.
(LAUGHTER) It must have been something in my breakfast. What we want to do is we want to be able to show folks tangentially in a concrete manner exactly what's going on.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know what I want to see. I'm going to go to Senator Nelson on this. I want to see that other picture where that insertion pipe was. I have been downstairs in the newsroom trying to get that feed and that feed is gone. I want it back.
SANCHEZ: And we have two questions from Senator Nelson as well. In the future, should we drill a relief well as well as the actual origin well at the same time? And he says the Norwegians use some kind of acoustic device that allows them to check these things all the time, and we don't.
Interesting point, I have not had a chance to ask the professor that yet, but I will when we come back. In the meantime, take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you apply a dispersant, you have to remember, you're not making it disappear, you're just making it invisible. What you're doing is you're putting the oil into the water column, and so now it's going to have a greater affect on the marine organisms that are underwater.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Louisiana has a huge environmental oil mess on their hands, as we know. And that's just one of the issues that Parrish President Bill Nongesser has to tackle. This guy is as fired up as anybody we have seen on the air in the last couple of days. He's fired up about BP, fired up about the government, fired about the administration.
More with him and more with Chad and more with Satish when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: We welcome you back, I'm Rick Sanchez. This is RICK'S LIST
We just got some information on something's that just crossed, and I'm going to read you this off this lap top here. This is the House Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment.
And they're holding hearings today on what's been going on in the Gulf of Mexico. And interestingly enough, you know I always talk to you about some of the things that make a good television newscast are the moments, those little moments when you go, wow, this was something.
I think this is one of those. This guy's name is Representative Charlie Melancon. He is a Democrat from Louisiana. He's doing his business here. He's a lawmaker. But watch what happens to him as a man, as a person emotionally in the middle of this thing. Roll it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. CHARLIE MELANCON, (D) LOUISIANA: Our culture is threatened, our coastal economy is threatened, and everything that I know and love is at risk. Even though this marsh lies along coastal Louisiana, these are America's wetlands.
Excuse me. I just wish to submit for the record. Thank you.
REP. G.K. BUTTERFIELD, (D) NORTH CAROLINA: We thank the gentleman and every member of our committee and every American is praying for Louisiana and the people of the Gulf. It's just been an unimaginable tragedy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Isn't that something? He couldn't even finish reading his statement. He had to get up and leave. This is how personal this is for the people who actually live in that part of the country. He's not speaking there, it seemed, as a legislator or lawmaker, representative, congressman. He was speaking as a Louisianan.
Now this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All these chemicals are toxic that they're using, and I don't understand why they're letting these people do this. The fish that were floating up there yesterday, the pelicans were feeding on these fish.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: People are saying that some of the oil spill is now making them sick. Elizabeth Cohen and I are going to be going through some of the symptoms and separate fact from fiction with these reports that are coming out early this morning.
We're going through those as well, the politics, the environment, all of the effects of what's going on in the gulf of Mexico right here, as you might expect, on your list, RICK'S LIST
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SANCHEZ: And welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.
Once again, we want to show what you is actually going on right now in the Gulf of Mexico, 5,000 feet below the surface. We see something that looks like this, which most are saying today, including BP officials -- they use the word "success." They are not saying it is a success yet. They are obviously not saying, to be fair to them, that this thing is, you know, capped, sealed, plugged.
But they are saying that what they wanted to do, which is kind of force mud down there seems to be working. There's a long way to go.
But joining us now once again is Professor Satish from Rice University. He's been masterful in his understanding of this understanding of the situation in the Gulf of Mexico and most of what he has told us has pretty much been confirmed today.
Let me ask you though, because we just had Senator Bill nelson on and many of you with us for a while may have heard what Senator Bill Nelson said.
He said two things. A, he said in Norway they have a system where they have an acoustic backup check to make sure they know exactly what's going down there, as far as testing of the BOP, et cetera.
And he also said that never again should we allow people to drill straight down on just one well without having another well as a backup safe measure, a relief well, so to speak.
In fact, I think we have animation that might show this. OK. There is the actual well, right? And then I believe we can show -- OK, that's it right there. That is the relief well, going into the original one, which they can then use to try and take the oil out in case the first one, the one that you see right there that's going up and down goes bad.
Is the senator right? Is this something we should do in the future? Should we have been doing this before, professor?
NAGARAJAIAH: Yes, the senator is right. I think one of the things that will happen is that such relief wells will be probably required as a part of the deep water drilling and that is going to come out of this panel that President Obama has established.
That is the answer to the first question. The second question is about this acoustic trigger, transfuser and actuator, which essentially acts as another backup device to shut off the blowout preventer. That is the valve which is malfunctioning right now.
Certainly, that is used in Norway with and it's required in Norway and Norwegian waters, so I think that is a good step forward. Senator Nelson is right.
SANCHEZ: How many leaks or blowouts or problems like the one we have had here have they had in Norway, as far as you know?
NAGARAJAIAH: I don't know the exact numbers, but, you know, they have been working on this for quite some time. And that's the reason why they have this additional device, which is the acoustic trigger action.
SANCHEZ: Thank you, professor. We are going to take a break. Chad is joining me once again. The producer is just telling me we got to sneak a break in.
NAGARAJAIAH: That's fine. SANCHEZ: When we come back, we will see if we can continue this conversation with the professor. More information is coming into us. And as we follow it, we will be sharing it with you.
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SANCHEZ: So, how is the Dow being affected by all of this? I'm going to tell you about that in a minute.
But first, back to the Chad and back to the professor. You say you are getting a lot of questions from viewers. What are they?
MYERS: People are asking, professor, when they actually get this well what they call "under control," will this mud stop coming out of the picture we see here and then we will know it is really in check, or is the mud going to keep coming out?
NAGARAJAIAH: The mud will stop coming out when they actually plug it, using cement. When the cement hardens, it's going to stop the leak completely. But that's few days off.
SANCHEZ: A few days. Yes, you said yesterday, I remember said yesterday 100 hours. And then when I tried to nail you down on it you said, you know, it might be three days, Rick. Are you sticking to that?
NAGARAJAIAH: Yes. Yes, absolutely.
SANCHEZ: Well, you have been right so far. So we will just continue with that.
Stay right there, guys, we will continue this conversation. People are depending on some of these answers. People are getting a kick out of this. I'm reading the tweets and people saying the nicest things about both of you guys, and they are actually not saying horrible things this time about me.
MYERS: Wow.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: Poppy Harlow is going to join us in just a moment and take us through what is going on with the Dow.
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