On May 5, BP CEO Tony Hayward told Congress in a closed-door briefing that, in the worst-case scenario, the oil well in the Gulf Coast would leak 60,000 barrels of oil per day.
Back then, official government estimates said the well was leaking 5,000 barrels of oil every day. Those estimates have since been repeatedly revised, most recently to reflect an estimated leakage of 35,000-60,000 barrels of oil per day.
Here’s a look at how the estimates evolved over time:
April 23: 200 barrels per day.
April 24: 1000 barrels per day.
April 28: 5000 barrels per day.
May 27: 12,000-19,000 barrels per day.
June 10: 20,000-40,000 barrels per day.
June 15: 35,000-60,000 barrels per day.
Chart by TPM Intern Erik Hinton.
