NU Online News Service, Oct. 13, 11:24 a.m. EDT
A two-day underwater examination conducted by Transocean and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Oct. 4-5 confirmed that there are no hydrocarbons leaking from the sunken Deepwater Horizon or the riser—the pipe linking the rig to the well head prior to the Macondo accident last year.
The inspection, which was just released, conducted with the use of a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV), also did not find any “sheen” or oil in the area, according to Transocean, the world's largest offshore-drilling contractor.
Transocean, in cooperation with the USCG, says it undertook the inspection after a sheen was reported on the water in the vicinity of the sealed Macondo well, when the USCG issued a notice to the company.
The explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010, left 13 dead and 17 injured, leading to a massive oil spill and environmental disaster. The event caused scrutiny of the risk-management practices of energy giant British Petroleum and ultimately led to the removal of its CEO.
It also prompted the U.S. Department of Justice to file a lawsuit against BP and other companies involved in the Deepwater Horizon joint venture, including rig owner Transocean and QBE Underwriting Ltd., Lloyd's Syndicate 1036, one of Transocean's insurers. BP leased the semi-submersible rig Deepwater Horizon from Transocean and held majority ownership in the drilling project.
The spill, which wasn't capped until July 15, released nearly five million barrels of crude oil.
After the completion of the inspection of the sunken vessel earlier this month, the USCG issued the following statement:
“Transocean deployed an ROV on Oct. 4-5, 2011. Transocean is best able to speak to the ROV deployments, but Coast Guard experts viewed the feed from the ROV and all agreed that nothing shown in the feed provided any indication that there was release of oil from the riser, the fuel tanks or any other debris at the wreckage site. No discharge or leaking from the riser or the wreckage was observed. Furthermore, there was no oil product either on the surface or subsurface that could be sampled. And, recent BP ROV footage of the capped Macondo 252 well from Aug. 26-27, 2011 has shown no evidence of a release from the wellhead or well. The cause of the sheens remains under investigation.”
For information visit http://www.restorethegulf.gov/.
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