A massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that has become far worse than initially though crept toward the coast Thursday as government officials offered help from the military to prevent a disaster that could destroy fragile marshlands along the shore.
An executive for BP PLC, which operated the oil rig that exploded and sank last week, said on NBC's "Today" that the company would welcome help from the U.S. military.
"We'll take help from anyone," BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles said.
The Coast Guard has urged the company to formally request more resources from the Defense Department.
But time may be running out: Oil from the spill had crept to within 12 miles of the coast, which could coat as soon as Friday. A third leak was discovered, which government officials said is spewing five times as much oil into the water as originally estimated – about 5,000 barrels a day coming from the blown-out well 40 miles offshore.
Suttles had initially disputed the government's estimate, or that the company was unable to handle the operation to contain it.
But early Thursday, he acknowledged on "Today" that the leak may be as bad as the government says. He said there was no way to measure the flow at the seabed and estimates have to come from how much oil makes it to the surface.
If the well cannot be closed, almost 100,000 barrels of oil, or 4.2 million gallons, could spill into the Gulf before crews can drill a relief well to alleviate the pressure. By comparison, the Exxon Valdez, the worst oil spill in U.S. history, leaked 11 million gallons into Alaska's Prince William Sound in 1989.
As dawn broke Thursday in the oil industry hub of Venice, about 75 miles from New Orleans and not far from the mouth of the Mississippi River, crews loaded orange oil boom aboard a supply boat at Bud's Boat Launch. There, local officials expressed frustration with the pace of the government's response and the communication they were getting from the Coast Guard and BP officials.