Oil rig blast fuels ecosystem concerns
Source: Agencies |
April 24, 2010, Saturday
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Print Edition
WORKERS in Louisiana were trying to contain oil spilled from a rig explosion and prevent any threat to the coast's fragile ecosystem, as the search continued yesterday for the 11 workers who were still missing.
No more oil appeared to be leaking from the well head on the ocean floor after the drilling rig exploded and sank in the Gulf of Mexico, the United States Coast Guard said yesterday.
The rig burned for nearly two days until it sank on Thursday morning. The fire was out, but officials initially feared 1.27 million liters of crude oil a day could be rising from the sea floor nearly 1,500 meters below.
Coast Guard Rear Admiral Mary Landry said crews were closely monitoring the rig for any more crude spill.
The crew was finishing the well about 80 kilometers off the Louisiana coast when the rig exploded. Officials have not said what caused the blast, and the oil they are dealing with now is left over from the explosion and sinking.
"If it gets landward, it could be a disaster," said Cynthia Sarthou of the environmental group Gulf Restoration Network.
BP PLC, which leased the rig and took the lead in the cleanup, said yesterday it has "activated an extensive oil spill response."
Ed Overton, a Louisiana State University environmental sciences professor, said he expects some of the light crude oil to evaporate while much of it turns into a pasty mess called a "chocolate mousse" that ultimately breaks apart into small chunks of oily residue that can wash ashore.
No more oil appeared to be leaking from the well head on the ocean floor after the drilling rig exploded and sank in the Gulf of Mexico, the United States Coast Guard said yesterday.
The rig burned for nearly two days until it sank on Thursday morning. The fire was out, but officials initially feared 1.27 million liters of crude oil a day could be rising from the sea floor nearly 1,500 meters below.
Coast Guard Rear Admiral Mary Landry said crews were closely monitoring the rig for any more crude spill.
The crew was finishing the well about 80 kilometers off the Louisiana coast when the rig exploded. Officials have not said what caused the blast, and the oil they are dealing with now is left over from the explosion and sinking.
"If it gets landward, it could be a disaster," said Cynthia Sarthou of the environmental group Gulf Restoration Network.
BP PLC, which leased the rig and took the lead in the cleanup, said yesterday it has "activated an extensive oil spill response."
Ed Overton, a Louisiana State University environmental sciences professor, said he expects some of the light crude oil to evaporate while much of it turns into a pasty mess called a "chocolate mousse" that ultimately breaks apart into small chunks of oily residue that can wash ashore.
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