BP Attempts US Oil Spill Clean-Up

Global energy firm BP’s efforts to stop the flow of oil from beneath the Gulf of Mexico are continuing apace. The flow occurred after an explosion at an offshore oil rig called Deepwater Horizon towards the end of April 2010.

Current plans see BP attempting to put an end to the oil slick’s growth by using an immense, funnel-shaped structure which is now being pieced together by Louisiana-based workers and could be at work in coming days.

Since the oil first starting pouring out, BP has taken responsibility for the clean-up operation, but not accepted liability for the Deepwater Horizon explosion. Instead, it has directed attention towards Transocean: the company that owned it.

Oil Spill: Environmental Damage

Despite this, both BP and Transocean are anticipating being on the receiving end of legal action, taken in light of an oil spill that Barack Obama – the President of the United States – has referred to as the potential trigger for “unprecedented” environmental damage.

BP’s funnel weighs 98 tons and stands forty feet high. Once in place, it will stream oil, via a connected pipe, above the water and onto a vessel lying in wait.

Theoretically, the funnel should divert 85 per cent of the escaping oil, but technology of this kind has never been used at 5,000 feet below the surface: the depth of the oil well’s opening. On this basis, BP is not presently guaranteeing 100 per cent success from it.

In comments made to news agency Reuters, BP representative John Curry appeared upbeat, though. Quizzed on whether the funnel would be effective, he replied “I sure hope so”, adding: “If not, we will keep trying other options until something does work. I think we have some great engineers and they have worked very hard.”

Oil Slick Spread

As this News Item was being written on 4 May 2010, the oil slick spread had reached an estimated 9,000 square miles – equivalent to a small-sized US state – and remained a major threat to local ecosystems.

Already, the fishing industry has been hard hit, but the prospect of the slick coming into full contact with the Louisiana coastline brings with it the threat of immense environmental devastation.