BP uses tube to plug Gulf of Mexico oil leak

Engineers are considering options to seal the oil gush in the Gulf of Mexico after BP managed to capture some oil and gas by inserting a tube more than a kilometre long into the main leak. A 10-centimetre diameter tube has been inserted into the 53-centimetre leaking pipe, sucking up the oil as if through a straw.

Reuters

The tube is the first tangible sign of success in three weeks of efforts to prevent at least 210,000 gallons of oil from spewing into the sea each day, and adding to the slick off the coast of Louisiana.

A relief well that would divert the flow and allow the well to be permanently sealed is also under consideration, but is not expected to be ready until August.

Meanwhile fresh analysis of enormous plumes of oil under the surface suggest the spill may be far worse than previously estimated.

One was reported to be 16 kilometres long and nearly five kilometres wide.

Researchers from the National Institute for Undersea Science and Technology said the plumes were perhaps due to the "deep injection of dispersants which BP has stated that they are conducting".

Response crews have so far used some 560,000 gallons of chemical dispersants, spraying them onto surface oil and also directly into the leak in a bid to break up the oil.

"The oil still exists, it's just spread in smaller pieces," Aaron Viles, campaign director for the Gulf Restoration Network. "It could have a significant impact on the marine life of the Gulf of Mexico."

But BP's head of group media, Andrew Gowers, dismissed reports that he said "speculate" on the plumes. He said officials had no confirmation of oil clumping together in mid-ocean areas.

The Barack Obama Administration said that even if BP managed to slow the leak, this would not permanently stop the underwater geyser.

"This technique is not a solution to the problem, and it is not yet clear how successful it may be," said Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar in a statement.