by Lindsay Rosen

Created on: June 09, 2010   Last Updated: June 10, 2010

BP has been very quick to deny and downplay the possible presence of undersea oil plumes. BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles claimed that BP had found no larger concentrations of oil under the sea and that no one else had either. Still this comes only one day after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported finding subsurface oil as far as 142 miles away from BP’s leaking well head in the Gulf of Mexico.

The undersea plumes, some of which are nearly 50 miles long, are suspected to be the toxic components of dispersant-sprayed oil that did not evaporate. Suttles claims that the NOAA’s report does not contradict his statement and that the amount of subsurface oil present is very small.

A report that stated oil was also leaking from the Diamond Offshore drilling rig Ocean Saratoga has been denied. The Ocean Saratoga has been leaking oil since it was damaged by Hurricane Ivan in 2004. Taylor Energy Co. has stated that rig has been leaking on average less than one-third of a barrel of oil each day and that images of oil reported to be a spill were actually the result of work being done to repair several minor leaks.

The presence of subsurface oil constitutes more bad news in the never- ending oil spill tragedy. Not only does subsurface oil pose a further threat to the environment and clean-up efforts but BP’s fragile and unsure reputation is again in jeopardy.

British Petroleum has been criticized by everyone from the government to the angry populous via Facebook due to the perception that their response to the gulf spill was inadequate and slow. Even now BP’s containment efforts have come under further scrutiny due to suspicions that more oil than scientists estimate may still be leaking into the ocean.

Congress and Coast Guard officials say a new analysis should provide a more reliable estimate of how much oil is being captured by BP’s containment device and how much is still leaking.

BP has already spent $1.25 Billion on the cleanup and is expected to face a criminal investigation and several lawsuits regarding the initial explosion that caused the spill and killed eleven workers. BP has also suffered financially due to boycotts of its gas stations.

The price of BP stock has decreased by nearly 50%. The Coast Guard is continuing to crack down on BP’s cleanup efforts in order to encourage the use of equipment that will help to capture more oil.

The latest reports showing large plumes of undersea oil

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