"This is like doing open-heart surgery at 5,000 feet in the dark with robot-controlled submarines," Lamar McKay, chairman and president of BP America, said this weekend as he described the complexity of stopping the oil leaks in the Gulf of Mexico.

As he and other BP officials told reporters this weekend:

• There are now six ROVs trying every technique imaginable to get the blowout preventer (BOP) to activate fully and stop the flow of oil.
• Three containment domes are being fabricated and are expected to be placed over the leaking riser to capture the oil and safely transport it to a barge for processing. According to one report, these domes, which weigh about 74 tons, could be deployed in six-to-eight days.
• About 2,500 people, scores of vessels, miles of boom, and hundreds of thousands of gallons of dispersant are being used on the oil spill as weather permits.
• At least one relief well, possibly two, will be drilled to completely seal the well.

Depending on the effectiveness of these efforts, the spill could be stopped soon or "could go on for 90 days," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar stated yesterday. (Washington Post)

BP has released new photos of the command center on its website, showing some of the people who are actively engaged with the response effort including Gov. Haley Barbour.

(Image Source: BP)