Tar Balls Along Texas Coast Are From Deepwater Horizon -Response Center

6th Jul 2010 03:40

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES Tar balls collected in Texas came from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, but it is unclear how the material got to Texas, the Deepwater Horizon Unified Response said in a statement. Following laboratory tests, very small tar balls discovered in surf at Bolivar Peninsula's Crystal Beach and Galveston's East Beach by investigators Saturday "were determined to be associated with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill," it said. "The testing found that the oil was lightly weathered, raising doubts that the oil traversed the Gulf from the spill source. Boats carry oil collected during the response to Texas for processing, raising the possibility the oil could have been transported on a vessel." Crude oil began spewing into the Gulf in what has become one of the largest oil spills in U.S. history following an April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, owned by Transocean Ltd. (RIG) and leased by BP PLC (BP). (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 05, 2010 22:40 ET (02:40 GMT)