Gulf oil rig disaster spilling 300,000 gallons of oil per day

A US Coast Guard has said that the submerged oil well on the Gulf of Mexico oil rig disaster could potentially be releasing 8,000 barrels, or 300,000 gallons of crude oil per day into the Gulf of Mexico.

The Coast Guard, Rear Adm Mary Landry said crews saw an area measuring one mile by five miles (1.5km by 8km) of what appeared to be oil on the surface of the water. Officials say the environmental damage would be worst if any oil spill reached the Louisiana shore, 50 miles away.

US President Barack Obama has said that dealing with Tuesday’s oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico is a “number one priority” and the government was providing “all assistance needed” in the rescue effort off Louisiana, and in mitigating any environmental impact, he said.

The Deepwater Horizon sank after a blast, leaving 11 workers missing. There are fears of a major oil spill, with the coastguards saying the rig may be leaking 8,000 barrels of oil per day. There are worries that the now submerged rig is leaking large volumes of oil into the Gulf.

The spill is being fed by an estimated 13,000 gallons of oil and gas (per hour) that were pumping every hour from a pipe running up from an oil reservoir more than 3km beneath the seabed, which works out at a massive 312,000 galloons per day.

BP, Transocean and the US Coast Guard were planning to use booms, skimmers and chemicals to control what threatens to be a massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

BP spokesman Mueller said dozens of vessels and aircraft were on the way to the scene, including equipment to minimise the environmental impact of any spilled oil. “This is the kind of thing we drill for every year and plan for it, but hope we never have to use it. Today is the day we are going to use it. We are prepared and are moving,” he said.

Deepwater Horizon was drilling for BP on part of the Mississippi Canyon Block 252 known as the Macondo prospect, in 1,500m (5,000ft) of water. Built in 2001 by South Korea’s Hyundai, the semi-submersible rig was 120m (396ft) long and 78m (256ft) wide, according to Transocean.

There had been no signs of trouble before the explosion and crews had been doing routine work on the oil rig. The Deepwater Horizon could end up becoming one of the world’s most challenging oil spills as the rig has now sunk into the Gulf of Mexico sea.

Video: (with thanks to CBSnews.com)

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