As I've been suggesting for weeks now, BP stands to make millions from the oil it's harvesting from the leak.
WASHINGTON — BP's runaway deepwater well could still become a moneymaker for the company, even as it tries to stem the gush of crude oil that's fouling the Gulf of Mexico.
If the current containment effort works — and BP and the government say they're optimistic that it will — the oil giant will salvage much of the oil that's now spewing from the crumpled pipes on the ocean floor. That captured oil, McClatchy estimates, could generate more than $1.4 million in revenue for BP each day.
Once the oil is piped to the surface to the drill ship Discoverer Enterprise, it will be processed and sent by tanker to a refinery to be sold.
"It's exactly the same as if it's normally produced oil," BP spokesman Graham MacEwen said.
And once they have two relief wells drilled, they'll really be back in business. The environment and the Gulf region jobs, on the other hand... won't.
BP wins. Flawless victory.