No oil is leaking from the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig or from a riser on the seabed near the semisubmersible, which sank last year following the Macondo well blowout, Transocean Ltd. said in an Oct. 12 news release.
“A comprehensive 2-day underwater examination conducted by Transocean and the US Coast Guard on Oct. 4 and 5 confirmed that there are no hydrocarbons leaking from of the sunken Deepwater Horizon or the riser,” Transocean said. “The inspection, conducted with the use of a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV), also failed to find any sheen or oil in the area.”
Transocean, in cooperation with the USCG, undertook the inspection after a sheen was reported on the water near the sealed Macondo well and the USCG issued a notice to the company (OGJ Online, Sept. 28, 2011).
USCG said its experts viewed the ROV feed from Oct. 4-5. “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,” USCG said. “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.”
The examination of the rig and riser was recorded and portions of that video will be posted online, USCG said.
About the Author
Paula Dittrick
Senior Staff Writer
Paula Dittrick has covered oil and gas from Houston for more than 20 years. Starting in May 2007, she developed a health, safety, and environment beat for Oil & Gas Journal. Dittrick is familiar with the industry’s financial aspects. She also monitors issues associated with carbon sequestration and renewable energy.
Dittrick joined OGJ in February 2001. Previously, she worked for Dow Jones and United Press International. She began writing about oil and gas as UPI’s West Texas bureau chief during the 1980s. She earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in journalism from the University of Nebraska in 1974.