The well blowout might have been stopped earlier if BP had released comprehensive site-specific data and information. For those of us interested enough to submit proposals, one hand was intellectually tied behind our backs for lack of specifications. Back of the envelope calculations can only go so far. Stopping a runaway well @ 6,500 psia months later is a lot easier than stopping it @ 20,000 - 100,000 psia in its initial phases.

     The situation was artificially complicated by the dispersant which accelerated separation of the heaver petroleum fractions from the more volatile BTEX components, leaving a higher concentration of carcinogens and toxic compounds at the surface and a mass of heavier fractions at or near the bottom, creating a long-term waste management and environmental remediation problem.