Feds order Transocean to investigate oil floating above well responsible for Deepwater Horizon spill
By Ben Raines, Press-Register
27 September 2011 MOBILE, Alabama — The U.S. Coast Guard announced Tuesday that it would require Transocean, owner of the drilling rig that exploded and unleashed the Gulf spill, to determine the source of the BP oil found floating above the wellhead. The announcement came one month after the Press-Register collected samples of oil bubbling up on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico and sent them to Louisiana State University for scientific analysis. The newspaper visited the well site 4 days after Bonny Schumaker with On Wings of Care and the Gulf Restoration Network first observed oil on the surface during an Aug. 19 overflight. Coast Guard Capt. John Burton, commanding officer of the Morgan City Marine Safety Unit, said the agency routinely issues Notices of Federal Interest to companies believed to be responsible for sheens found floating on the Gulf’s surface. He said federal officials do not believe the well is leaking. Burton said the Press-Register samples, coupled with repeated sightings of sheens in the area by Schumaker and interviews with LSU chemist Ed Overton, suggested that oil originating from BP’s well was making its way to the surface. The notice stated that the oil on the surface suggests “the possibility of a release from the riser pipe or other debris on the ocean floor from the April 20, 2010, Deepwater Horizon incident.” “They did the survey of the well, and it doesn’t seem to be coming from there, so we’re looking at other sources. One of the possible sources is the wreckage of the Transocean rig,” Burton said. “One option is to send down a remote vehicle. Certainly a survey of the wreckage, a survey of the riser pipe is appropriate.” The notice also says that Transocean may be responsible for debris removal costs. “If a volume of oil has remained in the riser, there is no question that it is oil from BP’s Macondo well,” Transocean PR spokesperson Lou Colasuonno said in an email. “As owner and operator, BP is the responsible party for all fluids that emanated from the Macondo well head, and BP has repeatedly acknowledged that responsibility. Transocean has accepted responsible party status for rig fluids, such as diesel fuel, consistent with the law. We take this very seriously, and we are committed to working with BP, the Coast Guard, and other parties to investigate these reports.” […]
