Oil flows into Gulf freely as BP shifts cap
UPDATES to BP’S containment plan caused oil to spill freely into the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend as the company was dealt another financial blow by well partner Anadarko.
BP, which started to replace the containment cap on the blown out preventer yesterday, said that updates could take up to six days to complete, leaving the oil flow from the Macondo well untouched.
The spill response team, led by Admiral Thad Allen, is fitting the well with a tighter cap that is expected to capture virtually all of the oil leaking from the Macondo well.
“We’re pleased with our progress,” said BP senior vice president Kent Wells yesterday.
The new cap can siphon up to 80,000 barrels of oil a day to the surface, up from 25,000 barrels a day the previous method was capturing.
But the group suffered a financial set back after Anadarko said that it would not pay the embattled oil major the $272m (£180m) it has been billed for its share of the well.
Anadarko told BP on Friday that it was withholding reimbursement but that it was committed to working with the group “in good faith to achieve a satisfactory resolution”.
BP said: “We are disappointed they have failed to live up to their obligations under the Macondo Operating Agreement and as a responsible party under the Oil Pollution Act.”
A spokesperson at BP would not confirm whether the group is likely to take legal action against Anadarko, which owns 25 per cent of the well, but said that it is currently evaluating its options.
Mitsui, which owns 10 per cent of the well, has not responded to BP’s requests for an $111m payment to cover its share of responsibilities.
Mitsui could not be reached for comment.
The spill has already cost BP over $3bn.