Subsea Source Control and Containment
Subsea efforts continue to focus on progressing options to stop the flow of oil from the well through interventions via the blow out preventer (BOP), and to collect the flow of oil from the leak points. These efforts are being carried out in conjunction with governmental authorities and other industry experts.
The volume of oil and gas being collected by the riser insertion tube tool (RITT) containment system at the end of the leaking riser is estimated to be about 3,000 barrels a day (b/d) of oil and some 14 million standard cubic feet a day of gas. The oil is being stored and gas is being flared on the drillship Discoverer Enterprise, on the surface 5,000 feet above.
This remains a new technology and both its continued operation and its effectiveness in capturing the oil and gas remain uncertain.
BP also continues to develop options to shut off the flow of oil from the well through interventions via the failed BOP.
Work on the first relief well, which began on May 2, continues. The DDII drilling rig began drilling the second relief well on May 16. Each of these wells is estimated to take some three months to complete from the commencement of drilling.
Surface Spill Response and Containment
Intensive operations to skim oil from the surface of the water have now recovered, in total, some 187,000 barrels (7.8 million gallons) of oily liquid. The total length of boom deployed as part of efforts to prevent oil reaching the coast is now more than 1.9 million feet, including over 500,000 feet of sorbent boom.
In total over 19,000 personnel from BP, other companies and government agencies are currently involved in the response to this incident. So far about 19,000 claims have been filed, and some 8,000 payments have been made.