News from the Gulf

BP has increased the yield of the LMRP oil-recovery effort by utilizing the hoses previously used for the failed "Top Kill" to augment the flow of oil from the "Top Hat" to the Discoverer Enterprise. Yesterday, they were able to recover 25,000 bbls, with the current recovery rate being limited by the storage capacity of the drillship.

To address this limitation, they are bringing additional lightering vessels into operation. With additional storage capacity, they are fairly confident that they will be able to increase the flow rate to 53,000 bbls per day by the end of the month. By mid July, they expect to replace the current "Top Hat" with a bolted-on cap that will permit recovery rates of 60,000 to 80,000 bbls per day using a production platform.

With the current Discoverer Enterprise efforts focused solely on oil recovery, stopping the leak now depends on the success of the relief wells. Well #1, being drilled by the Development Driller III, has attained a depth of 10,677 feet, while Well #2, being dug by the Development Driller II, is 4,662 feet below the sea floor.

These wells are attempting to connect with the current bore hole at a depth of over 15,000 feet below the sea floor. If successful, this will be quite a feat of engineering. The drillships are operating in 5000 feet of water, with each well having to bore through nearly three miles of rock to intersect with a well casing that is nine inches in diameter.