Gulf Beaches Spin Positive PR Message, While BP Tests Another Cap
Words of the Day
“There’s no sign of the spill here. For us, it’s business as usual” – Destin, Fla. Chamber of Commerce President Shane Moody
Gulf Coast Welcomes Vacationers With ‘Open’ Signs
In the height of the summer travel season, beaches along the Emerald Coast on the Gulf Coast are hanging the “Open for Business” signs and fluffing the welcome mats for potential vacationers. From Gulf Shores, Ala. to Destin, Fla. – and all points east and west – they are beckoning beach bums everywhere.
The lovely Rebecca Wilson is dishing daily on the sights and sounds of summer with video updates, Facebook posts and Twitter feeds from the Orange Beach/Gulf Shores/Alabama Gulf Coast CVB. Check her out at http://www.thebeachfacts.com/.
WordSmith – confused over the conflicting reports that would have us think the Gulf Coast has turned into a giant oil pan – recently grabbed his shades, swimsuit and sunscreen and hit the beach in Gulf Shores to get the man, er, mic on the streets scoop! WordSmith could hardly believe his chrome! There were very few tar balls, no oil slick … and nary a scent of gas wafting from the waves. He had a boogie boarding, sun soaking, whale of a good time! No tarnish to the ole Shure 55S here!
In the meantime, BP – trying to plug the hemorrhaging pipeline and the steady stream of negative PR – has installed a new, tighter-fitting cap on its runaway well in the Gulf, and is testing whether the gusher could be stopped completely. The clean-up continues night and day.
Now, BP engineers are conducting a pressure test on the new cap.
If the tests on the well show the pressure rising and holding — an indication that the well is intact, with no significant damage to the casing pipe that runs the length of the well bore to 13,000 feet below the seafloor — BP, working with government scientists, could decide to leave the valves closed, effectively shutting off the well.
A new collection system that could divert up to 25,000 barrels of oil a day began operating earlier this week and was funneling oil to a surface ship, the Helix Producer, at a rate of about 12,500 barrels a day. It was expected to reach full capacity over several days, although it and another system that is diverting about 8,000 barrels a day to another ship will be shut down during the test.
If the pressure tests show that the well is damaged and the valves have to be reopened, full containment of the oil would probably not occur for several weeks, until one or two more ships could be brought in to handle more of the oil. That would raise total collection capacity to more than 60,000 barrels a day, the current high-end estimate of the well’s flow rate. Halting the gusher would then await the completion of the first relief well at the end of July or later.
WordSmith – and the resorts – are not holding their breath!
Golden Mic
Each week, Wordsmith will bestow a Golden Mic Award to the person, group or company in the court of public opinion that best exemplifies the tenets of solid PR, marketing and advertising – and those who don’t. Stay tuned … and step-up to the mic!
The WordSmith News Bureau is based at Deane Smith Media Innovations, a full-service PR, marketing and advertising agency. Got PR? Need marketing strategy? Ad consulting? Message Wordsmithing? Creative & online initiatives? Reach the WordSmith at wordsmith@deanesmithmedia.com