Adm Allen: 3rd Collecting Vessel Partially Connected

6th Jul 2010 21:59

By Angel Gonzalez Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES BP Plc (BP) is in the process of connecting a new oil-collecting vessel to a leaking deepwater well in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, although it's unclear whether the operation will be concluded on Tuesday, due to rough seas, according to the leader of the federal response effort to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Thad Allen said at a news conference in Houston that the vessel, dubbed Helix Producer, has a "partial hookup" in place, although "we won't know for several more hours" whether the connection has been successful. The ship, which would join two other oil-collecting vessels at the site of the spill, would increase BP's ability to capture oil to a rate of 53,000 barrels per day; the company's original plan called for having the system in place by the end of June, but the first tropical storm of the 2010 hurricane season delayed the ship's arrival. On Monday, BP captured 24,980 barrels of crude. Both current weather complications derived from Hurricane Alex and a potential tropical storm forming near the Yucatan peninsula underscore the fragility of the oil collection effort. Allen said the responders were watching the forming weather system, which the National Hurricane Center says has a 30% chance of becoming a tropical cyclone, "very very closely." Meanwhile, an attempt to permanently kill the spill by intersecting it with another well is drawing closer to its target: the so-called "relief" well is 264 feet away from the leaking Macondo well, Allen said. Even though drilling has progressed ahead of schedule, Allen said that a previously-announced mid-August target date for the intersection remains in place. "The last part is the slowest, most meticulous part," said Allen at a news conference in Houston. "I'm sticking with mid-August." Allen was in Houston on Tuesday to discuss whether BP would put in place a new containment cap and a system that would allow four producing vessels to collect between 60,000 and 80,000 barrels per day. Although the spill is estimated to be leaking at a rate between 35,000 and 60,000 barrels a day, the extra capacity would provide some redundancy in the event one of the ships falters, and be more resistant to the hurricanes that are expected to arrive in the region, Allen said. The equipment will be in place "sometime in the next seven to 10 days," Allen said; the decision will be made once the Helix Producer is up and running and there's a better estimate of how much oil is leaking from the sea floor, Allen added. -By Angel Gonzalez, Dow Jones Newswires.;[email protected] Order free Annual Report for Anadarko Petroleum Visit http://djnewswires.ar.wilink.com/?link=APC or call 1-888-301-0513 Order free Annual Report for BP plc Visit http://djnewswires.ar.wilink.com/?link=BP or call 1-888-301-0513 Order free Annual Report for Transocean Inc. Visit http://djnewswires.ar.wilink.com/?link=RIG or call 1-888-301-0513 (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 06, 2010 16:59 ET (20:59 GMT)