Adm. Allen: Will Decide Next Week Whether To Evacuate Well Site

26th Jun 2010 17:52

NEW ORLEANS (Dow Jones)--The U.S. Coast Guard will decide in the next few days whether to halt oil containment efforts in the Gulf of Mexico ahead of Tropical Storm Alex, Admiral Thad Allen said Saturday. Evacuating for the storm would interrupt oil containment for about two weeks, he said in a press conference. Tropical Storm Alex is expected to reach the Gulf of Mexico early next week, though recent projections put the storm's path west of the site of the leaking BP PLC (BP, BP.LN) well, which is about 50 miles southeast of Louisiana. Evacuating the area would require moving as many as 6,000 vessels and over 38,000 people, including two rigs that are collecting about 24,500 barrels of oil a day from the well, Allen said. The decision to evacuate will come 120 hours before gale-force winds are expected to reach the area, Allen said. "At this point (Alex) does not threaten the site, but we know that these tracks can change," Allen said. BP is expected to move the Helix Producer rig to the site of the leak next week, which should boost the amount of oil siphoned off to 53,000 barrels a day, he said. At that point, federal responders will decide whether to abandon the current containment efforts in favor of one of several alternative plans that could raise the collection rate as high as 80,000 barrels a day, Allen added. Those options, which involve removing the containment cap BP is using, will be explored at a meeting Wednesday chaired by Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Allen said. The well has leaked for more than two months, ever since a rig working at the site caught fire and sank. Federal and independent estimates put the flow of oil from the well at between 35,000 and 60,000 barrels a day. (MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires June 26, 2010 12:52 ET (16:52 GMT)