BP: Still Containing Oil Well Flow As Storm Heads Toward Gulf

22nd Jul 2010 18:01

By Susan Daker and Angel Gonzalez Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES HOUSTON (Dow Jones)--BP Plc (BP, BP.LN) said Thursday that oil was still being contained at a damaged well in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, even as forecasts say a brewing storm in the Atlantic could potentially interrupt the work of spill responders. The company said on its website that it was continuing tests on a recently installed containment system that has been shutting in the Deepwater Horizon gusher since last week, and that pressure in the shut-in reservoir has been increasing slowly. The Associated Press reported early Thursday that responders were preparing to evacuate the area, but BP and the Unified Command didn't respond to requests for comment. The leader of the U.S. spill response effort, retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, is scheduled to hold a press conference at 2:15 p.m. CDT. The storm, currently dubbed Tropical Depression 3, is about 405 miles southeast of Key Largo, Fla., and moving toward Florida, according to the National Hurricane Center. There is a tropical storm watch for the east coast of the state from north of Golden Beach to Jupiter Inlet. The current track of the storm puts it near Louisiana, and the site of the Deepwater Horizon spill, on Sunday morning, the NHC said. On Wednesday, Allen requested that BP provide a written letter to him about its plans should a tropical storm enter the Gulf of Mexico. The letter was due by 8 a.m. EDT. In a teleconference Wednesday, Allen said responders were mulling whether to open the vent on the cap, which is currently keeping up to 60,000 barrels of oil a day from spewing out of the well, to ease pressure. If the vent were opened, some hydrocarbons could flow into the sea, he said, adding the debate is over whether the cap can be left unattended for a few days while spill responders evacuate for a storm. An evacuation could create a 10- to 14-day gap in the response effort, Allen said. Richard Knabb, the tropical weather expert at The Weather Channel, said Thursday that the tropical depression is unlikely to form into a hurricane but would still push sea water, which could be mixed with oil and dispersant, onto land in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. "Some places would get onshore flow, no matter what strength [of storm]," Knabb said. Jim Rouiller, a senior energy meteorologist with Planalytics, said in a note to clients that any storm impact to the Gulf's energy production infrastructure would be minimal, other than a few production shut-ins and evacuations of non-essential personnel. -By Susan Daker, Dow Jones Newswires; 713 547-9208; [email protected]; and Angel Gonzalez, Dow Jones Newswires; 713 547-9214; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 22, 2010 13:01 ET (17:01 GMT)