Action baby, action!: "Oddsmakers taking bets on BP's oil containment efforts" (BP; RIG)

Well here's a nifty way for TransOcean to lay off some of their exposure.
From NewsWatch: Energy:

As BP gets ready to place a huge dome-like structure on top of one of the subsea oil leaks on the wreckage of the Deepwater Horizon rig, online gambling site Bookmaker.com is putting out odds for their efforts.

The possible outcomes and the predictions for the placement of the 100-ton, 40-foot-tall device over one of the two remaining leak points:

The device will cut the flow of the spill by 80 percent: +100 It will reduce the flow by less than 80 percent: -500 It will stop the leak all together: +1000 It will make the leak worse: +500

The +/- indicates the return on the bet. The percentage is the likelihood that response will occur. For Example: Betting on the candidate least likely to win would earn the most amount of money, should that happen.

Before you put your money down you might want to check out this story, also at the Houston Chronicle:

New tactic might seal leaking well sooner, BP CEO says

In its race to contain a growing oil spill that touched the Gulf shore for the first time Wednesday, BP has turned its focus to a new option that could be in place within two weeks and permanently plug a gushing well on the seafloor, CEO Tony Hayward said Wednesday.

The new method, known as a “top kill,” is commonly used to control wells on land but untested in mile-deep waters. In this case, it involves reconfiguring an existing piece of equipment that sits on top of the wellhead so that heavy fluids can be pumped through it and into the well, with the aim of halting the flow....MORE