LOS ANGELES — Federal officials Friday scrambled to get ready for the possibility that a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico could shut down containment operations at BP’s leaking well and wash large quantities of oil ashore.
A low-pressure area brewing on the northeast coast of Honduras and Grand Cayman has a 70 percent chance of becoming a tropical storm in the next 48 hours, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Computer models show the storm taking one of two possible routes: moving northwest toward the border of Texas and Louisiana, or northeast across the spill toward the Florida panhandle.
Adm. Thad Allen, the Obama administration’s point man on the spill, said Friday that federal, state and local governments working with BP, have a “very robust hurricane contingency plan.”
Five days before gale-force winds, or 40-knot winds, are forecast, he said, BP would begin to withdraw the tankers and equipment capturing oil from the leaking well, and also shut down the rigs that are drilling relief wells that are designed to ultimately cap the leak.
BP tankers are collecting more than 20,000 barrels of oil a day from a pipe leading down to the well head 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana.
“A storm with gale-force winds could move into a 2, 3,or 4 hurricane by the time it gets there,” Allen said.
A storm would have “a very negative effect,” Allen said. “At some point, we’re going to have to break production and get those production units to a safer locale. . . . (Our) overall goal in this whole thing is the safety of our personnel.”
The prospect of withdrawing containment equipment and allowing the blown-out well to spew with uncontrolled force is alarming officials along the gulf. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., released a letter Friday calling for Navy vessels to be positioned to help skim oil after any storm passes.
“Figure several days down time as the storm approaches, a few more days as the storm passes, and a couple more days to get things back into place — and you’re facing up to 10 days or more of the well gushing some 60,000 barrels a day unchecked,” Nelson said.
Allen acknowledged the problem, but told reporters: “I understand the need to skim the oil as soon as we can, but it’s going to be after the storm passes. I don’t think anybody wants a vessel out there trying to skim oil with the weather building beyond gale-force winds.”
The brewing storm system is expected to gather intensity before it reaches the Yucatan peninsula over the weekend.
“We’ll know how strong it will become over the next couple of days, probably by Tuesday,” said Jeff Masters, director of meteorology at Weather Underground, a private forecasting service.
Developments
Delay sought in ruling on moratorium: The Justice Department on Friday urged a federal appeals court to delay a judge’s ruling overturning a drilling moratorium in the gulf. In court papers, the Obama administration said the suspensions in deepwater drilling are important to protect human health and the environment from another disaster.
Labor chief calls for more mine, rig safety: Labor Secretary Hilda Solis slammed BP along with Massey Energy, owner of the West Virginia coal mine where 29 workers died in an explosion in April — saying they need better safety measures. “We are not saying go out of business,” she said. “Do your job better. Make an investment in your employees. We want you to make a profit, but not at the expense of killing your employees.”
Biden to visit gulf coast: Vice President Joe Biden will head to the gulf on Tuesday to visit a command center in New Orleans and the oil-fouled Florida panhandle.
BP accused of impeding probe: The chairman of a House panel investigating the oil spill said Friday that BP won’t let members talk to several employees who might have critical information about what led to the catastrophe. Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., said BP has cited its own investigation as its reason for denying access to the employees. BP rejected the accusation.
The Associated Press
