Oil From Spill in Marshes, Gulf's Loop Current

(May 19) -- Heavy oil has seeped into Louisiana's delicate marshes and an oil sheen from BP's leaking well has drifted into the Gulf of Mexico's powerful loop current, federal scientists said. Researchers said the sheen could flow to the Florida Straits and into the Atlantic Ocean.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Wednesday that much of the oil sheen heading east would be dispersed in the roughly 10 days it would take to get to Florida. Or the oil could get caught in an eddy in the middle of the gulf and not get to the Florida Straits, NOAA said.

"Right now, any potential impact is perceived as light, and it's days away" from Florida, said Coast Guard Rear Adm. Mary Landry, the government official overseeing the response to the BP spill.


Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said the heavy oil oozing into his state's marshes threatens "our way of life."

"The oil is no longer just a projection or miles from our shore. The oil is here. It is in our shores and in our marsh," Jindal said in a statement.

The Coast Guard said tar balls retrieved Monday from Fort Zachary State Park in Key West, Fla., did not come from the gulf oil spill. Tests at a Connecticut lab showed the tar balls were of a different type of oil than that spilling from the leaking well off Louisiana's coast. The origin of the tar balls is unknown, the Coast Guard said.

It's not uncommon for tar balls to wash up on the shores from tankers and cruise ships. Tar balls were also reported at Corpus Christi, Texas, though Landry said it's "very, very unlikely" they came from the spill. She said those balls would also be tested.

Also Wednesday, BP reported improved containment of the oil that's spewing from the site of the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform that exploded April 20, killing 11 men, and sank two days later. About 5.4 million gallons of oil have since spilled into the gulf, according to the official estimate. The company and the Coast Guard have said their estimate of the total daily leak, 5,000 barrels, is an approximation -- one that scientists say could be far too low.

Doug Suttles, BP's chief operating officer, said a tube inserted into the leaking pipe is now containing more than half of the flowing oil and funneling it to a vessel on the surface of the gulf. He said the piping device is containing about 3,000 barrels per day, up from 1,000 barrels Monday.

"It's performing well. We're very encouraged. We think this is a sustainable operation now," Suttles said today at a news conference in Robert, La.

About half of the flow from the broken riser pipe is gas, roughly 14 million cubic feet per day, Suttles said. Gas that is funneled to the surface is separated from the oil, then burned off.

Suttles said BP hopes Sunday to begin its "top kill" operation, an attempt to clog the well by forcing heavy drilling mud material down the pipe, blocking the upward flow of oil and gas. If successful, that would be followed by a flow of cement to seal the well permanently.

Calm seas allowed for more burning of oil on the gulf's surface, including one burn that lasted more than two hours, Suttles said.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Wednesday he's planning to break the Minerals Management Service, which regulates the oil and gas industry, into three separate offices as a result of criticism from President Barack Obama and others that MMS is "too cozy" with the industry. Lawmakers in Washington have blamed MMS for failing to force BP and other energy companies to better prepare for a blown well like BP's.

The reorganization is designed to eliminate a conflict of interest in MMS's three missions. The agency issues leases and collects royalties from oil and gas derived from those leases. MMS also polices offshore drilling.

"The Minerals Management Service has three distinct and conflicting missions that -- for the benefit of effective enforcement, energy development and revenue collection -- must be divided," Salazar said in a statement.

U.S. and Cuban officials are discussing response to the spill in wake of reports that oil in the loop current could take it to the Florida Keys and northern Cuba, State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid said. In a statement, Obama also thanked Mexican President Felipe Calderon for his country's offers of assistance in dealing with the spill.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This version corrects the previous version, which confused gallons and barrels.