BP is currently conducting a test to determine if the ill-fated Deepwater Horizon oil rig and its Macando well is still leaking oil into the Gulf of Mexico, more than two years after a deadly explosion and summer-long oil spill.
According to a CBS News report, investigators with BP will be supervised by officials representing the Coast Guard as they determine whether the oil rig is still leaking oil. In September, a fresh oil sheen in the Gulf of Mexico was determined to be the result of leaking oil from the Macondo well. The sheen was found 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana.
No efforts were made to clean up the sheen as the company and Coast Guard determined it was not “feasible” to do so and that it did not threaten the coastline. BP declared that the leak from the Macondo well detected in September was fixed.
BP and the Coast Guard are now on a five-day mission to determine if the fix the oil company applied to the Macondo well is working or if more oil is spilling from it.
In April 2010, an explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig caused the Macondo well to rupture, causing what turned into a months-long battle to cap the broken well shaft. In the meantime, hundreds of millions of gallons of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico, forcing BP and the federal government into taking drastic measures to cap it.
More oil appears to be developing in the Gulf of Mexico and that has prompted this latest investigation, including officials visiting the site of the distressed Macondo well. According to the report, “Slicks and sheens of varying sizes and shapes have been documented by satellite photos.”
U.S. Representative Edward Markey, of Massachusetts, says BP is acting stubborn as Congress continues its investigation into the oil spill and the lasting effects of it, including these recent developments. The oil company is refusing to release some footage and aerial images which allegedly show that more oil is spilling from the Macondo well beneath Deepwater Horizon.
BP has recently pleaded guilty to federal crimes, including some felonies, in connection with the Deepwater Horizon explosion and spill, including crimes that say it lied to federal officials and Congress. The company is constantly facing new legal claims against it from those who were affected by the oil spill. The company has also paid record fines to the federal government related to the oil spill.
