- LONDON: Oil major BP Plc said it expected a second oil containment system, which would allow it to increase the amount of oil being captured from its leaking Gulf of Mexico well, to be available for deployment in mid-June.
The system to capture oil via a manifold, which was previously developed for the failed "top kill" attempt to shut the well, is in addition to the lower marine riser package (LMRP) containment cap and could allow BP to capture almost all the leaking oil.
BP said that since the LMRP cap was installed on June 3, it had captured 16,600 barrels of oil up to June 5, including 10,500 barrels on June 5 — compared with an estimated daily flow of 12,000 to 19,000 barrels.
The London-based company added it had so far spent around $1.25 billion on the response effort, excluding $360 million commited for construction of the the Louisiana barrier islands project.