The first is the lower marine riser package (LMRP) containment cap located on top of the Deepwater Horizon’s failed blow-out preventer (BOP). This system takes oil and gas to the Discoverer Enterprise. A second system, which started last week, is connected directly to the BOP and carries oil and gas through a manifold and hoses to the Q4000 vessel on the surface.
The Q4000 uses a specialized clean-burning system to flare both oil and gas captured by the second system.
On June 19, a total of approximately 11,050 barrels of oil was collected and 25.6 million cubic feet of natural gas was flared on the Discoverer Enterprise. BP said that this is less than recent averages because process facilities were shutdown for part of the day.
In the same 24-hour period, 9,990 barrels of oil and 17.8 million cubic feet of natural gas were flared on the Q4000. The total volume of oil recovered from both the LMRP containment cap system and the Q4000 since they became operational is approximately 249,500 barrels.
Approximately 103,000 barrels of collected oil were transferred from storage on the Discoverer Enterprise to the Overseas Cascade tanker on June 17 and June 18. The Overseas Cascade left the MC252 site on June 18.
BP said that preparations continue for the next step in containment operations. Construction of the first floating riser remains on schedule for the end of June. The Helix Producer vessel then will be connected to this riser and it is currently anticipated that this system will be available to begin first operations around the end of June or early July.
Plans are also being developed for further options to provide additional containment capacity and flexibility. These projects are currently anticipated to begin operations around mid-July.
Work on the first relief well, which started on May 2, continues and has currently reached a measured depth of 15,936ft. The second relief well, which started on May 16, is at a measured depth of 10,000ft. Both wells are still estimated to take approximately three months to complete from commencement of drilling.
Work continues to collect and disperse oil that has reached the surface of the sea, to protect the shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico, and to collect and clean up any oil that has reached shore. Operations to skim oil from the surface of the water now have recovered, in total, approximately 558,000 barrels of oily liquid, the company said.
Total length of containment boom deployed as part of efforts to prevent oil from reaching the coast is now about 500 miles, and about 740 miles of sorbent boom also has been deployed.
