By Peter J. Brennan and Jim Polson
April 24 -- BP Plc and the U.S. Coast Guard said about 1,000 barrels of oil is leaking daily in the Gulf of Mexico, after a Transocean Ltd. drilling rig caught fire and sank this week.
“It’s 1,000 barrels emanating from 5,000 feet below the surface,” said Coast Guard Rear Admiral Mary Landry, who is overseeing the rescue and cleanup efforts, at a press conference today. “Absolutely, this is a very serious oil spill.”
The Coast Guard yesterday estimated that the rig leaked about 200 barrels and the well had been tapped. Landry said the well wasn’t fully capped and she learned this morning that oil began surfacing two days ago.
The spill covers a 400-square-mile section in the shape of a rainbow, about 40 miles from the coast, Landry said. It’s unknown when the well can be capped, she said.
The rig exploded on April 20, leading to a fire that caused it to sink two days later. Eleven of the 126 workers on board are missing and it’s presumed they were in the area of the explosion, Landry said. A search for them has been suspended and their families have been notified, she said.
BP, the oil producer which leased the Deepwater Horizon rig from Transocean, said it was found intact about 5,000 feet deep in the water and about 1,300 feet northwest of the well, according to Doug Suttles, chief operating officer of exploration and production for the oil company.
Blowout
Nearby pipelines that were temporarily shut weren’t affected by the rig’s explosion and should soon be operating, Landry said.
The rig burned for more than 24 hours after the explosion that Geneva-based Transocean said may have been caused by a so- called blowout, an unexpected surge in pressure that ejected petroleum at the top of the well.
If the missing workers died, it would be the deadliest U.S. offshore rig explosion since 1968, when 11 died and 20 were injured at a platform owned by Gulf Oil Corp., according to data from the Minerals Management Service. A 1987 helicopter crash aboard a Forest Oil Corp. platform killed 14 people.
To contact the reporters on this story: Peter J. Brennan in Los Angeles at pbrennan3@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: April 24, 2010 19:02 EDT
Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?sid=aLZRZdzg5TVo&pid=20601087
April 24 -- BP Plc and the U.S. Coast Guard said about 1,000 barrels of oil is leaking daily in the Gulf of Mexico, after a Transocean Ltd. drilling rig caught fire and sank this week.
“It’s 1,000 barrels emanating from 5,000 feet below the surface,” said Coast Guard Rear Admiral Mary Landry, who is overseeing the rescue and cleanup efforts, at a press conference today. “Absolutely, this is a very serious oil spill.”
The Coast Guard yesterday estimated that the rig leaked about 200 barrels and the well had been tapped. Landry said the well wasn’t fully capped and she learned this morning that oil began surfacing two days ago.
The spill covers a 400-square-mile section in the shape of a rainbow, about 40 miles from the coast, Landry said. It’s unknown when the well can be capped, she said.
The rig exploded on April 20, leading to a fire that caused it to sink two days later. Eleven of the 126 workers on board are missing and it’s presumed they were in the area of the explosion, Landry said. A search for them has been suspended and their families have been notified, she said.
BP, the oil producer which leased the Deepwater Horizon rig from Transocean, said it was found intact about 5,000 feet deep in the water and about 1,300 feet northwest of the well, according to Doug Suttles, chief operating officer of exploration and production for the oil company.
Blowout
Nearby pipelines that were temporarily shut weren’t affected by the rig’s explosion and should soon be operating, Landry said.
The rig burned for more than 24 hours after the explosion that Geneva-based Transocean said may have been caused by a so- called blowout, an unexpected surge in pressure that ejected petroleum at the top of the well.
If the missing workers died, it would be the deadliest U.S. offshore rig explosion since 1968, when 11 died and 20 were injured at a platform owned by Gulf Oil Corp., according to data from the Minerals Management Service. A 1987 helicopter crash aboard a Forest Oil Corp. platform killed 14 people.
To contact the reporters on this story: Peter J. Brennan in Los Angeles at pbrennan3@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: April 24, 2010 19:02 EDT
Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?sid=aLZRZdzg5TVo&pid=20601087
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