Video>> Gulf oil spill: An ecological disaster
Obama to do everything "humanly possible" on oil spill
No good solutions to U.S. Gulf oil spill yet, new method considered
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| A boat is seen clearing up the leaked oil, which was caused by an explosion of a BP oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, on May 5, 2010. British Petroleum (BP) executives admitted on Tuesday that good solutions are still being sought to tackle the Gulf of Mexico oil spill while U.S. officials are weighing a new method to clean up the mess with dispersant chemicals injected underwater. (Xinhua/Reuters photo) |
VENICE, United States, May 5 (Xinhua) -- Energy giant British Petroleum (BP) on Wednesday dispatched a steel "dome" in an unprecedented attempt to bring the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico under control.
The dome, a giant steel containment device, left Port Fourchon, Louisiana, Wednesday on a barge for the ruptured undersea oil well some 52 km off Venice, Louisiana, where the container will be placed over the leaking well.
"If all goes according to plan, we should begin the process of processing the fluid and stop the spilling to the sea on Monday," Doug Suttles, BP's chief operating officer, said Wednesday.
BP said it already stopped one of the three leaks in the wrecked wellhead.
The newly built 100-ton container will collect the leaking oil, which would be sucked up to a drill ship on the surface, according to BP.
