TIDMBP.
RNS Number : 5371N
BP PLC
14 June 2010
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| press release |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
June 14, 2010
UPDATE ON GULF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL RESPONSE
BP today provided an update on developments in the response to the MC252 oil
well incident in the Gulf of Mexico.
Subsea Source Control and Containment
The lower marine riser package (LMRP) containment cap, installed on June 3,
continues to collect oil and gas flowing from the MC252 well and transport them
to the Discoverer Enterprise drillship on the surface.
In the first 12 hours of June 13 (midnight to noon), approximately 7,720 barrels
of oil were collected and 16.9 million cubic feet of natural gas were flared. On
June 12, a total of approximately 15,000 barrels of oil were collected and 32.9
million cubic feet of natural gas were flared. The total volume of oil collected
by the LMRP cap system since it began operation is approximately 127,000
barrels. A further approximately 22,000 barrels of oil previously had been
collected through use of the Riser Insertion Tube Tool and stored in the
Discoverer Enterprise.
Between June 9 and 11 approximately 115,000 barrels of collected oil were
transferred from storage on the Discoverer Enterprise to the barge Massachusetts
between June 9 and 11. The Massachusetts left the MC252 site on June 11 to
discharge the oil at a terminal in Mobile, Alabama. Once discharge is complete,
the barge will return to the MC252 site.
The volume of oil captured and gas flared is being updated twice daily on BP's
website, www.bp.com. The LMRP containment cap has never before been deployed at
these depths and conditions, and its efficiency and ability to contain the oil
and gas cannot be assured.
Preparations for additional planned enhancements to the LMRP cap containment
system continue to progress.
The first planned addition, to operate in addition to the LMRP cap system, will
take oil and gas from the choke line of the failed Deepwater Horizon blow-out
preventer (BOP) through a separate riser to the Q4000 vessel on the surface.
Both the oil and gas captured by this additional system are expected to be
flared through a specialised clean-burning system. This system is intended to
increase the amount of oil and gas that can be captured from the well and is
currently anticipated to begin operations in the next few days.
Preparations are also underway for more permanent and flexible containment
system employing floating risers. A manifold has been deployed on the seabed and
a suction pile to anchor a riser has been installed. It is currently anticipated
that this system will be available to begin first operations around the end of
June/early July.
Plans are being developed to further develop these systems and also for further
options to provide additional containment capacity and flexibility, in line with
requests made by the US Coast Guard.
Work on the first relief well, which started May 2, continues and has currently
reached a depth of 13,978 feet. The second relief well, which started May 16, is
at 9,022 feet. Both wells are still estimated to take approximately three months
to complete from commencement of drilling.
Surface Spill Response and Containment
Work continues to collect and disperse oil that has reached the surface of the
sea, to protect the shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico, and to collect and clean up
any oil that has reached shore.
Operations to skim oil from the surface of the water now have recovered, in
total, almost 475,000 barrels (19.9 million gallons) of oily liquid.
The total length of containment boom deployed as part of efforts to prevent
oil from reaching the coast is now around 2.5 million feet (over 470 miles), and
almost 3.2 million feet (almost 600 miles) of sorbent boom also has been
deployed.
To date, over 51,000 claims have been submitted and more than 26,500 payments
have been made, totalling over $62 million.
Additional information
The cost of the response to date amounts to approximately $1.6 billion,
including the cost of the spill response, containment, relief well drilling,
grants to the Gulf states, claims paid, and federal costs. This includes new
grants of $25 million each to the states of Florida, Alabama and Mississippi and
the first $60 million in funds for the Louisiana barrier islands construction
project. It is too early to quantify other potential costs and liabilities
associated with the incident.
---
BP Press Office London: +44 20 7496 4076
BP Press office, US: +1 281 366 0265
www.bp.com/gulfofmexicoresponse
- ENDS -
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
MSCFIMATMBTBMTM
| 
