My Daily Inquirer

(CNN) -- An operation aimed at lessening the amount of oil gushing from an underwater well off the Louisiana coast was under way Tuesday, a BP official said.

"We want to minimize the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, and we're well into an operation to do that," BP Managing Director Bob Dudley said.

Within hours, he said, robots will begin making a series of cuts to the "lower marine riser package" on the well. After that, a diamond-cut saw will be used to make a "clean cut," preparing the way for a custom-made cap to be fitted over the package.

Meanwhile, President Obama will meet Tuesday with the heads of a new commission created to investigate how to prevent future oil spills.

White House aides said Obama will make public comments after meeting with former Sen. Bob Graham of Florida and former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator William Reilly. The two are leading a commission that has six months to issue a report with recommendations on how to prevent future spills resulting from offshore drilling.

Oil has been gushing from the undersea well since April 20, when the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and sank. Government estimates are that up to 19,000 barrels (798,000 gallons) of oil a day are flowing into the Gulf.
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Federal officials ordered another 1,200 square miles of the Gulf of Mexico closed to fishing Monday, extending the restricted zone toward the coasts of Alabama and Mississippi. About 26 percent of the Gulf is closed to fishing after National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration forecasts showed oil spreading across the water and toward those states' coasts this week.

Asked about his level of confidence in the capping procedure, given the fact that other operations aimed at stopping the spill have failed over the past 43 days, Dudley said the company has learned a lot from previous attempts. For instance, warm water will be pumped down in an effort to combat the formation of hydrates, or crystals, which blocked a previous containment vessel.

Although the engineering has never been attempted at a depth of 5,000 feet, Dudley said, it is "more straightforward" than that used in previous operations.

The operation represents the first of three containment steps BP plans to take, he said. After the cap is on, a second operation will create a second flow path through the blowout preventers, meaning there will be two flow paths to the surface.

"By the end of the month, we are engineering a completely separate system that will make it more storm-proof, with a free-standing riser that would allow for quick disconnects if needed," he said. "This engineering is different than the 'top kill' engineering."

If successful, the procedure will allow BP to collect most -- but not all -- of the oil spewing from the well. The long-term solution is the drilling of a relief well that will be in place by August.

BP, rig owner Transocean Ltd. and oilfield services company Halliburton have blamed each other for the disaster, which left 11 workers dead, but BP is responsible for cleanup under federal law.

The cutting that precedes the cap placement carries with it a risk of increasing the oil flow, Dudley acknowledged Tuesday. But "even with increased flow rate, this cap will be able to handle this."

Some scientists have said they believe that large plumes of oil are under the water's surface. However, scientists have not found evidence of the plumes, Dudley said. "They have found evidence of small decreases in oxygen levels," he said, which is expected when bacteria consume the oil.

"The science of the plumes hanging in the water doesn't feel right," he said. "We're absolutely taking these ideas seriously and looking at them. We haven't found them yet, and neither has the government."

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder will head to the Gulf Coast on Tuesday to survey the spill and meet with state attorneys general and federal prosecutors from Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi, the Justice Department said.

Last month, a group of senators -- including Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, D-California -- sent Holder a letter expressing concerns "about the truthfulness and accuracy of statements submitted by BP to the government in its initial exploration plan for the site" and asking Holder to investigate possible criminal and civil wrongdoing.

But in a reply to that letter last week, a Justice Department official did not say whether a criminal investigation had begun.

"The Department of Justice will take all necessary and appropriate steps to ensure that those responsible for this tragic series of events are held fully accountable," Assistant Attorney General Ronald Welch wrote.

Late Monday, BP announced several modifications to its plan that will allow crews to collect more crude and prepare for a possible hurricane.

In mid-June, the company said it plans to add a separate riser to take oil and gas to a vessel on the surface to increase the efficiency of the containment operation.

A free-standing riser will be placed 300 feet below sea level by early July, with a flexible hose that can be disconnected during a hurricane, BP said.

Hurricane season begins Tuesday.

Source: News

Posted by Jessie James