Dramatic new video of gushing oil was released yesterday after repeated requests by Sens. Boxer and Nelson.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ybE8jZAxdc

The four newly-released videos were taken at different dates looking at the two known major leaks gushing from the sunken Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. One leak is in the broken riser pipe, a second leak seen for the first time in these videos is a leak from the malfunctioning Blow Out Preventer (BOP).

I am struck by the fact that one video shows a very large volume of oil still pouring out of the sea floor even after the “insertion tube” was put in place by BP earlier this week.

While BP and the Department of Interior struggle to stop the flowing oil and contain and mitigate the oil that’s already in the water and along the coasts, allies of Big Oil in Congress continue blocking attempts to raise the cap on economic damages that oil companies are required to pay after devastating spills.

On Sunday night, 60 Minutes ran a very dramatic story told by Mike Williams, one of the survivors from the Deepwater Horizon.  Willams offers a first-hand perspective of the multiple events that may have lead to the tragedy.  If Williams is correct, it is clear that management production pressures lead to short cuts, poor decisions and multiple safety violations in order to get production back on schedule.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0onXmlFgF8I

Updated Video 5/20/10:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXTcM2ntlkM&feature=player_embedded#!

Above is new archival footage obtained from BP, labeled “dispersion ops.”