CORRECT:BP:No Estimate On When Q4000 Containment Ship Will Start Working

15th Jun 2010 23:55

("BP: No Estimate On When Q4000 Containment Ship Will Start Working," published at 18:28 EDT, misstated the first name of a BP spokesman. The correct version follows.) HOUSTON (Dow Jones)--BP PLC (BP, BP.LN) said Tuesday that the Q4000 hasn't begun collecting oil from the broken Macondo well in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The ship was designed to add 5,000 to 10,000 barrels a day of extra capacity to BP's containment system and was supposed to be connected Monday and ramp up on Tuesday, according to the federal officials. The ship continues to "ramp up," BP spokesman Toby Odone said Tuesday afternoon. There is no estimate on when it will be fully operational, he said. This news comes on the same day BP announced that a small fire halted the Discoverer Enterprise's containment efforts for nearly five hours. In a typical 12-hour period the Discoverer Enterprise captures about 7,500 barrels of oil. Later in the summer, BP plans to disconnect the Discoverer Enterprise and Q4000 and bring in ships that have more capacity and that can withstand harsher sea conditions. Also on Tuesday, a team of federal and independent scientists increased its estimate on how much oil is spewing from the well. The flow rate is likely between 35,000 to 60,000 barrels of oil a day. Last week, the team put the rate at 20,000 to 40,000 barrels of oil a day. -By Susan Daker, Dow Jones Newswires, 713-547-9208; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 15, 2010 18:55 ET (22:55 GMT)