News - Local
BP may use Chemicals to Break up Oil Under Water
Posted: Apr 29, 2010 4:20 PM by Melissa Canone
Updated: Apr 29, 2010 4:20 PM
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - BP officials say they are hoping to try an unusual technique to stop the flow of oil from a blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico.
BP PLC chief operating officer Doug Suttles says the company is studying whether to use chemicals to break up the oil under water.
The company has been reviewing research on the technique which has been used before, but never at these depths. The well is almost a mile underwater off the Louisiana shore.
He says the company is bringing the chemical to the site of massive spill and already has a giant reel of tubing in place.
If approved, work could start tonight.
U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Mary Landry called it "a novel, absolutely novel idea."
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