The mud continues to flow today, and has displaced more than 16, 000 people, swamping entire villages, factories and towns in toxic sludge.

ECONOMIST: Face value

Right now, the company says, it has removed that mud from the hole, but it believes that barite from the oil-based mud has blocked the flow.

FORBES: Updated 11:30 Central.

The rate going in was 900 gallons per minute, but the flow data of mud coming out was steadily increasing from 900 gallons a minute at 8:20 p.m. to a rate of 1, 200 gallons per minute at 8:34 p.m.

WSJ: The Oil Disaster Is About Human, Not System, Failure

The next step is to try to staunch the flow proper with drilling mud, a mixture of water and clay minerals.

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Davy Jones was so eager to cough up its bounty from a massive high-quality reservoir 200 feet thick that McMoran several months ago had to control the flow by filling the hole heavy drilling mud.

FORBES: Updated 11:30 Central.

There had already been a several week delay during which MMR was trying to mechanically grind away solidified barite, an ingredient in the oil based mud that was used to contain the well when it repeatedly tried to flow before it was supposed to.

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At 8:20 p.m. on the day of the explosion the pressure data suggest there was a constant flow of sea water being pumped into the drill pipe that was displacing the heavier mud system which was the primary pressure control for the well.

WSJ: The Oil Disaster Is About Human, Not System, Failure