BP: $350 million spent on Gulf spill to date; leak continues

By Steve Gelsi, MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- BP on Monday disclosed $350 million in costs so far from its Gulf of Mexico oil leak, with the spill entering its 19th day since a giant oil rig sank and caused an estimated 5,000 barrels of oil a day to empty into the Gulf's water.

Totaling up the estimated leak yields a figure of 95,000 barrels, or about 4 million gallons. By comparison, the 1989 Exxon Valdez accident spilled 10.8 million gallons into Alaska's Prince William Sound.

Efforts Persist To Contain Oil Spill

Because of a major oil spill, the shrimp season along the U.S. Gulf Coast was closed on Sunday - one day before it was scheduled to open. Video Courtesy of Reuters.

After failing to cap the leak with a 100-ton containment dome, BP (BP 48.97, -0.09, -0.18%)  said Monday it will attempt to lower a smaller dome over the main leak point. The larger structure didn't work because it became clogged with ice-like crystals as a result of cold temperatures and crushing ocean pressure a mile beneath the surface.

The oil major said such an operation has never been done at such a depth.

BP will also attempt a "top kill" option aimed at stopping the flow of oil from the well by injecting shredded rubber into the well as a stopper.

The spill has not only put the spotlight on BP and its safety record, Deepwater Horizon rig owner Tranocean Ltd. (RIG 67.62, -0.39, -0.57%)  is also drawing scrutiny.

The rig sank on April 22 after an explosion and spectacular fire on April 20. See article about Transocean.

Meanwhile, the Army National Guard planned to airlift sand bags along a four-mile stretch of coastline between Port Fourchon and the Jefferson Parish line to act as a barrier against oil spills.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the oil slick from the spill has been moving west toward richer fishing grounds in Louisiana and approaching Texas.

The slick is forecast to cover about 200 miles of the Gulf of Mexico, and has moved well west of the toe of Louisiana and toward Atchafalaya Bay, below Morgan City.

The Mississippi Delta, Breton Sound, the Chandeleur Islands and areas directly north have a potential for shoreline contacts on Monday, NOAA asid.

West of the Mississippi Delta, the shoreline west of Barataria Bay to Isles Dernieres is threatened on Monday.

"With continued winds from the southeast or east, potential oil contacts could reach as far west as Oyster Bayou on Tuesday, and Atchafalaya Bay on Wednesday," NOAA said.

BP said more than 275 vessels have been put to use, including skimmers, tugs, barges and recovery vessels.

The oil major said it's used more than 315,000 gallons of dispersants since the spill response began. Some 90,000 barrels of oily liquid has now been recovered.

Unlike the Valdez disaster, however, the oil in the BP spill has been trickling out at a much slower rate and chemical dispersants are being released both from the air and on the sea floor a mile down, where the oil is originating.

Steve Gelsi is a reporter for MarketWatch in New York.

(marketwatch.com)