NOAA: Can't Yet Confirm Underwater Oil Plumes From US Gulf Leak

The U.S. government said it didn't have enough scientific evidence to confirm oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico is spreading in deep, underwater plumes.

Some scientists have warned that giant plumes of oil from the mile-deep leak drifting deep in the Gulf, combined with the chemical dispersants injected at the source of the leak, could be creating a veritable "dead zone" of oxygen depleted water unfit for marine life. Oil has been gushering into the Gulf over the last six weeks since Transocean Ltd's (RIG) Deepwater Horizon rig, which was leased by BP PLC (BP, BP.LN), exploded and sank two days later.

"There have been a number of things that look suspicious, but we have yet to see confirmed lab results that give us definitive information," said Jane Lubchenco, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in a conference call. "It's quite possible that there is oil beneath the surface, but we need to have more definitive information."

The Associated Press reported that BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward disputed claims of large oil plumes suspended underwater, saying Sunday a company sampling showed "no evidence" that oil was suspended in large masses below the surface.

Lubchenco said NOAA research vessel Thomas Jefferson was sailing Wednesday to conduct a 10-day mission in the vicinity of the spill. Federal scientists will take water samples and use advanced methods for detecting submerged oil.

Lubchenco also said NOAA is expecting to reopen some of the closed fishery areas after researchers confirm that fish and other marine life aren't contaminated.

-By Isabel Ordonez, Dow Jones Newswires; 713-547-9207; isabel.ordonez@dowjones.com

(AFP contributed to this article.)

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