BP sets up numerous hotlines to deal with oil spill

I have received several emails from people with suggestions on how to stop the flow of oil leaking from BP’s deepwater Macondo well on Mississippi Canyon Block 252. Other readers are emailing me with questions about how they can volunteer or telling me that they have boats available to use in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill response.

BP has set up a number of hotlines for people to call with various offers or with damage claims:
--To report oiled shoreline or request volunteer information, call 866-448-5816.
--To submit alternate response technology, services, or products, call 281-366-5511.
--To submit your vessel to help with skimming, call 281-366-5511.
--To submit a claim for damages, call 800-440-0858.
--To report oiled wildlife, call 866-557-1401.

Some readers are asking why I am not reporting about oiled birds. The short answer is that there were few oiled birds as of early May. BP is working with various wildlife response organizations to ensure quality care for any oiled wildlife.

The first oiled bird to be recovered was a northern gannet, a seabird. It was caught on Apr. 30 and treated by Tristate Bird Rescue and Research, a company of bird experts hired by BP to rehabilitate wildlife.

Expertise and training is required to properly feed, hydrate, and clean oiled birds. The Joint Information Center is advising the public against attempting to rescue oiled or injured birds. People instead are urged to call the Oiled Wildlife hotline at 866-557-1401.

Spilled oil being burned on open water, EPA monitoring

Oil spill response officials are using controlled burns to eliminate some of the crude oil spilled off Louisiana. They say burning crude oil offshore has been effective elsewhere in the past.

Meanwhile, federal officials are monitoring air quality and testing water samples. Officials say it will take some time to measure the effectiveness of the controlled burns in the Gulf of Mexico.

US Coast Guard Rear Adm. Mary Landry said a controlled burn off the coast of Newfoundland in 1993 proved very effective at eliminating oil trapped in special containment booms and set on fire.

The majority of the spill on the gulf’s surface is an oil-water mixture called a rainbow sheen with some areas of emulsified oil. The spill is moving closer to the shore and to Louisiana’s wetlands.

The controlled burn eliminates the emulsified oil, leaving a waxy substance that can be picked up by skimming vessels.

“If we don’t secure this well, this could be one of the most significant oil spills in US history,” Landry said during an Apr. 27 news conference. An estimated 5,000 b/d is leaking from a BP PLC well drilled by Transocean Ltd’s Deepwater Horizon.

An Apr. 20 explosion and fire on the semisubmersible left 11 crew members missing and presumed dead. The semi sank on Mississippi Canyon Block 252 on Apr. 22. Efforts continue to stop the leaking oil.

The controlled burn practice does involve tradeoffs in that it creates air pollution, said Charlie Henry, a scientific support coordinator with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Meanwhile, other scientists say warm water temperatures, strong sunshine, and microbial action will help the oil degrade and evaporate. The spill involves light, sweet crude so it will degrade faster than did the heavy oil spilled from the Exxon Valdez tanker. An API spokewoman says a controlled burn was used on the Valdez spill and was effective.

ExxonMobil reports zero marine oil spills in 2008

ExxonMobil Corp. reports zero spills from ExxonMobil-operated and long-term chartered marine vessels in 2008. That is quite a contrast from the 1989 Exxon Valdez tanker spill in Alaska’s Prince William Sound.

The single-hulled tanker ran aground on Bligh Reef off Alaska, spilling 270,000 bbl of crude. Consequently, Congress passed the 1990 Oil Pollution Act requiring tankers operating in US waters to have double hulls.

ExxonMobil’s recent marine performance statistics was part of the company’s 2008 Corporate Citizenship Report. The company notes that its marine affiliates continue to provide safe, secure, and reliable marine transportation.

Marine affiliates of ExxonMobil help develop voluntary industry initiatives, including implementation of the Oil Companies International Marine Forum’s (OCIMF) Tanker Management and Self Assessment, a best practice guide for ship operators.

ExxonMobil said it’s committed to preventing spills from all its operations. The number of spills greater than 1 bbl in 2008 was down by over 60% since 2001. ExxonMobil’s total volume of hydrocarbons spilled in 2008 was about 20,000 bbl, most of which was recovered at the site of the spill.