LONDON (Reuters) - Energy giant BP captured oil and gas leaking from an offshore well in the Gulf of Mexico and had to interrupt the operation, but believes a new attempt on Sunday could be successful, a source close to the operation told Reuters.
Gas was taken to the surface and it was flared in the suspended operation on Saturday. The oil entered the pipe but didn't make it all the way to the surface, the source said.
"The concept can now be considered proven," the source said, referring to the operation to siphon leaking hydrocarbons by inserting a pipe into the damaged riser. The source added a new bid would be made on Sunday.
In Saturday's attempt, the cord taking the oil to the surface became entangled and the operation had to be suspended, the source said.
The fix involves guiding undersea robots to insert a small tube into a 21-inch (53-cm) pipe, known as a riser, to funnel the oil to a ship at the surface.
Crude oil is gushing unchecked into the sea from a blown-out offshore well a mile deep on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico, threatening an ecological and economic calamity along the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Officials said that so far the spill has had minimal impact on the shoreline and wildlife, but oil debris and tarballs were washing up on barrier islands and outlying beaches in at least a dozen places in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi.
(Reporting by Tom Bergin; Editing by Charles Dick)
