Breakthrough in oil spill claimed
Source: Agencies |
June 7, 2010, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward said yesterday he had no plans to quit over the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill, as the energy giant's bid to stanch the environmental disaster reached a turning point.
Pressure has been mounting on London-based BP to cap its seabed oil well, which has been gushing for 48 days, and bear the full financial cost of the cleanup and damage caused to Gulf Coast fisheries, wildlife and tourism.
Hayward became a lightning rod for Americans' anger with BP when he told struggling Gulf Coast residents last month, "I would like my life back," a remark widely seen as insensitive and which rekindled speculation he may not survive the crisis.
"It hasn't crossed my mind," Hayward said when asked by The Sunday Telegraph if he might resign because of the spill. "It's clearly crossed other people's minds but not mine."
Hayward told BBC television he had the full support of BP's board and the company's balance sheet was strong, despite the steep fall in its share price from the disaster.
"BP is generating a lot of cash," he said. "It will generate US$30 to US$35 billion of free cash flow this year. We have the financial strength to see through this," he said.
After a string of failures, BP made progress with its latest attempt to halt the spill - a containment dome fixed atop the well.
The company said yesterday the dome captured 10,500 barrels of oil in 24 hours.
Hayward told the BBC he hoped the dome would soon channel the "vast majority" of the crude to the surface.
That figure of 10,500 barrels, or 1.67 million liters, represents a little more than half of the top estimates of oil leaking daily.
The maximum collection rate from the small containment device on the ruptured well, which is about 1.6 kilometers under the ocean's surface, was estimated at about 15,000 barrels per day by US Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, who is heading up federal spill-relief efforts.
"We are optimizing the operation," Hayward said. "We have a further containment system to implement in the course of this coming week which will be in place by next weekend.
"So when these two are in place we would very much hope to be containing the vast majority of the oil."
Despite the progress, Allen wants more. "We're making the right progress," he said on CNN. "I don't think anybody should be pleased as long as there's oil in the water."
Allen told ABC's "This Week" the number of slicks in the water was making the cleanup difficult.
He said one of the problems was that the spill had "disaggregated itself into hundreds, maybe thousands of smaller pieces of oil."
The Administration of President Barack Obama has delayed plans to increase offshore drilling as a result of the spill.
The crisis has put Obama on the defensive and distracted his team from their domestic agenda - a new energy policy, reform of Wall Street and bolstering a struggling American economy.
The focus on the environmental disaster comes ahead of November's mid-term congressional elections in which the Democrats are expected to struggle to keep their majorities in the US House of Representatives and Senate.
Oil began leaking from the well after an April 20 rig explosion killed 11 workers.
US government scientists estimate that between 12,000 and 19,000 barrels of oil a day have been pouring into the Gulf of Mexico since then.
Pressure has been mounting on London-based BP to cap its seabed oil well, which has been gushing for 48 days, and bear the full financial cost of the cleanup and damage caused to Gulf Coast fisheries, wildlife and tourism.
Hayward became a lightning rod for Americans' anger with BP when he told struggling Gulf Coast residents last month, "I would like my life back," a remark widely seen as insensitive and which rekindled speculation he may not survive the crisis.
"It hasn't crossed my mind," Hayward said when asked by The Sunday Telegraph if he might resign because of the spill. "It's clearly crossed other people's minds but not mine."
Hayward told BBC television he had the full support of BP's board and the company's balance sheet was strong, despite the steep fall in its share price from the disaster.
"BP is generating a lot of cash," he said. "It will generate US$30 to US$35 billion of free cash flow this year. We have the financial strength to see through this," he said.
After a string of failures, BP made progress with its latest attempt to halt the spill - a containment dome fixed atop the well.
The company said yesterday the dome captured 10,500 barrels of oil in 24 hours.
Hayward told the BBC he hoped the dome would soon channel the "vast majority" of the crude to the surface.
That figure of 10,500 barrels, or 1.67 million liters, represents a little more than half of the top estimates of oil leaking daily.
The maximum collection rate from the small containment device on the ruptured well, which is about 1.6 kilometers under the ocean's surface, was estimated at about 15,000 barrels per day by US Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, who is heading up federal spill-relief efforts.
"We are optimizing the operation," Hayward said. "We have a further containment system to implement in the course of this coming week which will be in place by next weekend.
"So when these two are in place we would very much hope to be containing the vast majority of the oil."
Despite the progress, Allen wants more. "We're making the right progress," he said on CNN. "I don't think anybody should be pleased as long as there's oil in the water."
Allen told ABC's "This Week" the number of slicks in the water was making the cleanup difficult.
He said one of the problems was that the spill had "disaggregated itself into hundreds, maybe thousands of smaller pieces of oil."
The Administration of President Barack Obama has delayed plans to increase offshore drilling as a result of the spill.
The crisis has put Obama on the defensive and distracted his team from their domestic agenda - a new energy policy, reform of Wall Street and bolstering a struggling American economy.
The focus on the environmental disaster comes ahead of November's mid-term congressional elections in which the Democrats are expected to struggle to keep their majorities in the US House of Representatives and Senate.
Oil began leaking from the well after an April 20 rig explosion killed 11 workers.
US government scientists estimate that between 12,000 and 19,000 barrels of oil a day have been pouring into the Gulf of Mexico since then.
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