Wereley played an important role in assessing the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the summer of 2010 . On May 13 , 2010 , he was among the first scientists to report that the actual flow rate of oil out of the well was considerably higher than the official estimate at the time . After the disaster the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling found that the " ... Wereley estimates ( and at least some of BP ‘ s internal estimates ) proved to be significantly more accurate than the initial official estimates . " Wereley was invited to brief the House Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment about his findings . He was also asked to join the Flow Rate Technical Group ( FRTG ) , a group of scientists assembled by the Department of the Interior to address the flow rate issue . The FRTG issued a final peer-reviewed report on July 21 , 2010 , and contributed to the official US government oil flow rate estimate announced on August 2 , 2010 . In October 2010 Wereley was awarded the United States Geological Survey Director 's Award for his work on the FRTG team
Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Steve Wereley