BP Oil Collection Rate Drops Tue Morning After Lightning Fire

15th Jun 2010 00:22

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES BP PLC's (BP, BP.LN) rate of oil collection sharply decreased Tuesday morning, as a lightning strike and a faulty sensor hampered the company's oil-containment efforts. The company said it collected 5,610 barrels of oil in the first 12 hours of Tuesday in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, down 28% from its previous half-day rate. BP shut down its oil containment and recovery operation for several hours as a safety precaution, following a fire aboard the vessel that has been processing the oil. The sensor problem shut down operations for about 30 minutes. The company has been under intense pressure to successfully contain the spewing oil, which began in April when a deepwater drilling rig exploded and sank. The company's repeated failures at a temporary solution to the leak heightened scrutiny of its response, and it is still working on a permanent fix to the well. A team of scientists estimate that about 35,000 to 60,000 barrels are flowing from the broken well each day. BP shares were down 3.3% at $30.35 after hours. The stock has fallen deeply this year, 46% through Tuesday's close. -By Joan E. Solsman, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2291; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 15, 2010 19:22 ET (23:22 GMT)