MNeagle
22nd May 2010, 03:41 PM
http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-IO970_0522oi_F_20100522171907.jpg
Oil washes onto the beach in Grand Isle, La., on May 22.
LONDON—BP PLC's chief executive told staff he was frustrated by the company's failure to stop an oil leak in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and warned an attempt to do so starting next week could fail.
In an email to staff late Friday, Tony Hayward said, "Like all of you, and the outside world, I have shared a huge sense of frustration that we have not yet been able to stop the leak" that started a month ago when a rig leased by BP exploded and sank in the Gulf of Mexico.
Mr. Hayward said that an effort by BP to cap the well using heavy drilling fluids, a process known as "top kill" that's due to be implemented early next week, "would be another first for this technology at these water depths and so, we cannot take its success for granted."
BP said it would be at least Tuesday before engineers could start attempting the top kill, Associated Press reported.
Should the effort misfire, scientists told AP, it could lead to new problems. Ed Overton, a Louisiana State University professor of environmental studies, said the crippled piece of equipment called a blowout preventer could spring a new leak that could spew untold gallons of oil if there's a weak spot that is vulnerable to pressure from the heavy mud.
Most of BP's attempts to contain or shut down the spill have failed, but things began looking up for the company last Sunday when it began to remove at least some oil from the site of the leak. The company is also drilling two relief wells to permanently shut down the well, an effort that is scheduled to take months.
The U.K.-based oil giant has been using long tubes to siphon oil from the damaged well and transfer it to a vessel on the ocean's surface. BP was collecting about 2,200 barrels a day from the well, a company spokesman said Saturday. The rate was in line with the amount that BP said was being collected the previous day.
On Thursday, BP had said that it was collecting 5,000 barrels a day, which until then had been the official estimate of the rate of oil flowing from the well a mile below the water's surface. BP was forced to acknowledge that officials didn't have a clear sense of how much oil was leaking.
In recent days, just as heavy oil started to make landfall on the Louisiana shore, BP and government agencies have come under intense pressure to provide a clear sense of how large the leak is. Lawmakers have posted on the Internet BP's videos of the leak—shot by the robots—showing a dark cloud of oil continuing to billow toward the surface.
BP, the U.S. Coast Guard, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Minerals Management Service, the Department of Energy and the U.S. Geological Survey have formed a task force to provide a new estimate of the oil flow from the well. The work of the task force is expected to be completed this weekend.
BP has criticized independent estimates that put the flow rate at 50,000 barrels a day or more. Mr. Hayward said in the email to employees that measuring the flow of oil is "a complex task as it is influenced by a number of factors." He cited the damage to the oil pipe, known as a riser, sustained during the accident, the impact of drill pipe trapped within the riser and the proportion of natural gas in the plume. BP estimates that gas makes up roughly 50% of the plume, on average.
Anger grew along the U.S. Gulf Coast as thick oil washed into delicate coastal wetlands in Louisiana.
"It's difficult to clean up when you haven't stopped the source,'' Chris Roberts, a councilman for Jefferson Parish, which stretches from the New Orleans metropolitan area to the coast, told AP. "You can scrape it off the beach but it's coming right back.''
In Florida, Gov. Charlie Crist requested more federal aid for efforts to protect the state. Mr. Crist, an independent, sent a letter Saturday to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Sec. Janet Napolitano warning that the fouling of Florida beaches, fishing areas and tourist destinations would have severe and lasting consequences. He requested more containment boom to protect the shoreline and asked Ms. Napolitano to ensure that BP establishes more in-state claims offices.
Meanwhile at a public meeting Saturday in Key West, representatives from the Coast Guard, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and BP offered a similar message: There is no imminent threat to the Florida Keys, although fears remained that the slick would eventually hit the state.
Weather conditions have moved the so-called "loop current'' West, further from the Keys. That could change at any moment, but 72-hour projections for the spill's trajectory do not have it coming near Florida's coastline.
Even a small amount of oil spreading to the Keys could be catastrophic for sea life, mangroves and the already weakened coral reefs, not to mention an economy that revolves around tourism and commercial fishing.
In his email, BP's Mr. Hayward said that, while he is frustrated at the failure to stop the leak, "we do need to step back and remind ourselves that, although it can never be quick enough, we are making progress."
"We cannot undo this accident," Mr. Hayward said in the email. "However, we can and will do everything in our power to put things right."
A BP spokeswoman confirmed the authenticity of the email and said it was part of regular updates sent to staff.
BP shares closed down 1.6% at $43.86 in New York on Friday, even as the broader market recovered from Thursday's sharp selloff. The company's stock has lost about a quarter of its value since the Transocean Ltd. rig Deepwater Horizon, which was drilling a well for the company, caught fire and sank, killing 11 people. The spill was discovered shortly after the rig sank.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704546304575260641893421742.html?m od=rss_whats_news_us_business
Oil washes onto the beach in Grand Isle, La., on May 22.
LONDON—BP PLC's chief executive told staff he was frustrated by the company's failure to stop an oil leak in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and warned an attempt to do so starting next week could fail.
In an email to staff late Friday, Tony Hayward said, "Like all of you, and the outside world, I have shared a huge sense of frustration that we have not yet been able to stop the leak" that started a month ago when a rig leased by BP exploded and sank in the Gulf of Mexico.
Mr. Hayward said that an effort by BP to cap the well using heavy drilling fluids, a process known as "top kill" that's due to be implemented early next week, "would be another first for this technology at these water depths and so, we cannot take its success for granted."
BP said it would be at least Tuesday before engineers could start attempting the top kill, Associated Press reported.
Should the effort misfire, scientists told AP, it could lead to new problems. Ed Overton, a Louisiana State University professor of environmental studies, said the crippled piece of equipment called a blowout preventer could spring a new leak that could spew untold gallons of oil if there's a weak spot that is vulnerable to pressure from the heavy mud.
Most of BP's attempts to contain or shut down the spill have failed, but things began looking up for the company last Sunday when it began to remove at least some oil from the site of the leak. The company is also drilling two relief wells to permanently shut down the well, an effort that is scheduled to take months.
The U.K.-based oil giant has been using long tubes to siphon oil from the damaged well and transfer it to a vessel on the ocean's surface. BP was collecting about 2,200 barrels a day from the well, a company spokesman said Saturday. The rate was in line with the amount that BP said was being collected the previous day.
On Thursday, BP had said that it was collecting 5,000 barrels a day, which until then had been the official estimate of the rate of oil flowing from the well a mile below the water's surface. BP was forced to acknowledge that officials didn't have a clear sense of how much oil was leaking.
In recent days, just as heavy oil started to make landfall on the Louisiana shore, BP and government agencies have come under intense pressure to provide a clear sense of how large the leak is. Lawmakers have posted on the Internet BP's videos of the leak—shot by the robots—showing a dark cloud of oil continuing to billow toward the surface.
BP, the U.S. Coast Guard, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Minerals Management Service, the Department of Energy and the U.S. Geological Survey have formed a task force to provide a new estimate of the oil flow from the well. The work of the task force is expected to be completed this weekend.
BP has criticized independent estimates that put the flow rate at 50,000 barrels a day or more. Mr. Hayward said in the email to employees that measuring the flow of oil is "a complex task as it is influenced by a number of factors." He cited the damage to the oil pipe, known as a riser, sustained during the accident, the impact of drill pipe trapped within the riser and the proportion of natural gas in the plume. BP estimates that gas makes up roughly 50% of the plume, on average.
Anger grew along the U.S. Gulf Coast as thick oil washed into delicate coastal wetlands in Louisiana.
"It's difficult to clean up when you haven't stopped the source,'' Chris Roberts, a councilman for Jefferson Parish, which stretches from the New Orleans metropolitan area to the coast, told AP. "You can scrape it off the beach but it's coming right back.''
In Florida, Gov. Charlie Crist requested more federal aid for efforts to protect the state. Mr. Crist, an independent, sent a letter Saturday to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Sec. Janet Napolitano warning that the fouling of Florida beaches, fishing areas and tourist destinations would have severe and lasting consequences. He requested more containment boom to protect the shoreline and asked Ms. Napolitano to ensure that BP establishes more in-state claims offices.
Meanwhile at a public meeting Saturday in Key West, representatives from the Coast Guard, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and BP offered a similar message: There is no imminent threat to the Florida Keys, although fears remained that the slick would eventually hit the state.
Weather conditions have moved the so-called "loop current'' West, further from the Keys. That could change at any moment, but 72-hour projections for the spill's trajectory do not have it coming near Florida's coastline.
Even a small amount of oil spreading to the Keys could be catastrophic for sea life, mangroves and the already weakened coral reefs, not to mention an economy that revolves around tourism and commercial fishing.
In his email, BP's Mr. Hayward said that, while he is frustrated at the failure to stop the leak, "we do need to step back and remind ourselves that, although it can never be quick enough, we are making progress."
"We cannot undo this accident," Mr. Hayward said in the email. "However, we can and will do everything in our power to put things right."
A BP spokeswoman confirmed the authenticity of the email and said it was part of regular updates sent to staff.
BP shares closed down 1.6% at $43.86 in New York on Friday, even as the broader market recovered from Thursday's sharp selloff. The company's stock has lost about a quarter of its value since the Transocean Ltd. rig Deepwater Horizon, which was drilling a well for the company, caught fire and sank, killing 11 people. The spill was discovered shortly after the rig sank.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704546304575260641893421742.html?m od=rss_whats_news_us_business