US oil leak 'worse than thought'

Source: Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/04/201042942241326641.html


The southern US state of Louisiana is seeking emergency help after reports that an oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico was five times worse than previously thought.

Rear Admiral Mary Landry of the US coast guard said on Wednesday that the leak from an underwater oil well owned by British energy company BP was dumping 5,000 barrels, or nearly 80,000 litres, of oil a day into the Gulf.

"BP has just briefed me of a new location of an additional breach in the riser of the deep underwater well," Landry said.

She said the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration came up with the new estimate - up from 1,000 barrels a day - based on that information, aerial surveys and a study of the leak's trajectory.

The oil leak began on April 20 after an explosion at the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig left 11 workers dead and led to its sinking two days later.

A massive oil slick has been created by the leak, sparking fears of an environmental disaster along the US Gulf coast, which could threaten wildlife as well as economically important fishing grounds and oyster beds.

Louisiana appeal

The slick was previously expected to reach Louisiana's shoreline sometime on Friday, but could now hit the state's coast sometime on Thursday.

Bobby Jindal, the governor of Louisiana, made an appeal to the federal government for emergency assistance to help protect its fragile coast.

"Our top priority is to protect our citizens and the environment. These resources are critical to mitigating the impact of the oil spill on our coast," Jindal said on Wednesday.

He also said he had spoken with Janet Napolitano, secretary of homeland security, to "outline the state's needs as we brace for the impact of the oil spill on our coast".

Specifically, Louisiana is requesting additional containment booms to cover coastal areas and block the slick from impacting fisheries.

Clean-up crews have been struggling to control the slick, with a fleet of vessels dispatched earlier in the week hampered by strong winds and high seas.

On Wednesday, BP engineers working with the coast guard set fire to parts of the slick, testing a technique to burn off some of the oil and slow its spread. Burning tests were expected to resume on Thursday.

Leaking well

Neither the US coast guard nor BP offered any new information on efforts to seal off the underwater well head that has caused the massive oil slick.

Four remote-controlled robotic submarines deployed to the leak site earlier in the week have so far failed to activate a shutoff device, called a "blowout preventer", at the head of the well.

As an emergency back-up, BP engineers are also working to construct a giant dome to place over the leaking well to contain it. Collected oil could then be pumped out of the structure.

Prentice Danner, a spokesman for the US coast guard, said that option will take between two to four weeks, and is so far an untested one.

A more sustainable plan to stem the oil flow - drilling a relief well to take the pressure off the initial one - is due to commence on Thursday, but BP has said that effort could take up to three months to complete.