Oil Spill Not Imminent Threat To Shorelines - Coast Guard
May 13 2010 - 6:56PM
Dow Jones News
Oil leaking from a deepwater well in the Gulf of Mexico is not
yet an imminent threat to the coastline in Alabama, Mississippi and
Florida, the U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday.
Coast Guard officials said oil sheen has appeared in Louisiana
at Chandeleur Island and South Pass. Also, "tar balls" have washed
up on beaches in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama this week.
But favorable weather patterns and offshore containment efforts
through controlled burns, skimming and the use of dispersement
chemicals continue to keep the oil away from coastlines in the
northern Gulf, said Capt. Steven Poulin, Coast Guard incident
commander in Mobile, during a press briefing Thursday.
"The environmental factors right now seem to be keeping the oil
offshore. It allows us an opportunity to implement our strategy,"
he said.
The Gulf spill resulted from the explosion and sinking in April
of the Transocean Ltd. (RIG, RIGN.EB) Deepwater Horizon drilling
rig, which was finishing a well for BP PLC (BP, BP.LN). Eleven
members of the crew were killed by the blast.
A BP spokesman earlier Thursday said that the company will
deploy a top hat-shaped dome to try to contain the spill over the
next few days, or possibly next week. Company officials had
previously predicted that the dome would be in place by the end of
this week.
A BP official who attended the press briefing declined to
comment further on efforts under way to stop the Gulf leak.
Thousands of people are preparing for possible additional
coastal impacts, from the Louisiana National Guard setting up
protective dams on barrier islands to a boom system being floated
at the mouth of Mobile Bay to protect one of the nation's largest
estuaries.
-By Mark Peters, Dow Jones Newswires, mark.peters@dowjones.com,
212-416-2457
Cooper Cameron (NYSE:CAM)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
Cooper Cameron (NYSE:CAM)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024