BP said on Monday that, overnight, the Riser Insertion Tube Tool was successfully tested and inserted into the leaking riser, capturing some amounts of oil and gas. The oil was stored on board the Discoverer Enterprise drill ship 5,000 feet above on the water’s surface, and natural gas was burned through a flare system on board the ship.
This is the first partial success attained by BP to stop the spewing of between 5,000–25,000 barrels of oil a day which began flowing nearly three weeks ago into the Gulf of Mexico.
BP said that the Riser Insertion Tube Tool would enable some 1,000 barrels of day to be collected and is a step toward reducing the amount of oil being released into the Gulf. Efforts to stop the entire flow of oil is likely several days away.
The procedure – never attempted before at such depths – involves inserting a 5-foot length of the specifically-designed tool into the end of the existing, damaged riser from where the oil and gas is leaking. The test was halted temporarily when the tube was dislodged. After further inspection by technicians, it was re-inserted into the damaged riser.
Meanwhile, there are news reports of computer models by NOAA that project the current could bring the oil into the Gulf loop which would sweep it to the Florida keys and to the eastern shores of the state. Scientists concede though, that it is difficult to predict what will happen with the millions of gallons of oil already in the Gulf and whether it will reach Florida beaches.
