Allen Raises Concern About Seeping Crude
Angel Gonzalez
Wall Street Journal
07/18/2010
The top U.S. government official overseeing the oil spill response expressed concern late Sunday about a seep of oil on the seafloor near the recently capped well in the Gulf of Mexico.
The letter indicated that a tentatively successful plan on the part of oil giant BP PLC to halt the spill might be in danger of faltering.
In a letter to BP Chief Managing Director Robert Dudley, retired U.S. Coast Admiral Thad Allen said that monitoring of the seabed is "of paramount importance" due to the seep and to "undetermined anomalies" at the wellhead.
The letter asked BP to promptly notify the government of any seeps and requested a written plan for rapidly resuming the flow of oil from the well if oil is seen leaking from the sea floor.
A BP spokesman said the company is reviewing the letter and "continuing to work very closely with the government."
The letter comes after an optimistic BP said that the testing of a containment cap, which has been proceeding without problems and has stopped the flow of oil from the leaking well since Thursday, could continue until the mile-deep leak is plugged by a relief well in mid-August.
BP was hoping the effort would effectively put a stop to one of the worst uncontrolled oil gushers in U.S. history.
The letter, however, indicates that the U.S. government has concerns about the testing of the containment system devised by BP, which had originally been scheduled to last for 48 hours.
In an earlier statement, Adm. Allen said that lower-than-expected pressure readings at the well could be a sign of an oil and gas leak on the seabed.
