Offshore staff
NEW ORLEANS – ROVs deployed from the offshore construction vessel Skandi Neptunehavecollected oil samples from the site of the Deepwater Horizon incident to determine the source of a surface sheen discovered last month.
The samples were taken after the ROV video showed apparent oil globules leaking from the containment dome at about 15 globules/min, which is estimated to be less than 100 gal/d. The dome is about 500 m (1,640 ft) from the original Macondo wellhead.
The ROV also inspected the original Macondo well area including the wreckage, debris, relief wells, and the riser on the seafloor and observed no oil leakage from that area.
The two collected oil samples will be used for lab analysis. One sample will be shared byBP and Transocean, and the second sample will be used by the Coast Guard. The lab analysis will help determine if the containment dome is the likely source of the recent sheen.
“The Coast Guard is further evaluating what is believed to be seepage from the containment dome to determine how best to respond,” said Capt. Duke Walker, federal on‐scene coordinator for theDeepwater Horizon response.
The ROV operations were observed by the Coast Guard, BOEM, BSEE, the Department of Interior’s Trustee, BP, Transocean, and state on‐scene coordinators from Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida.
10/19/2012
