BP denies covering up extent of oil spill
* BP says third-party estimates assume wrong pipe diameter
STOCKS | GLOBAL MARKETS | ENERGY
* Says data indicates about 50 pct of plume is gas
* BP says providing U.S. government with all information
* Shares in BP down more than 3 pct on cover-up allegations
LONDON, May 21 (Reuters) – BP Plc (BP.L) said some third-party estimates of how much oil is gushing out of a leaking well on the sea floor of the Gulf of Mexico were inaccurate and it denied a cover-up.
BP has been estimating that the leak was flowing at a rate of 5,000 barrels a day, but some scientists and the U.S. government have questioned that figure. [ID:nN19272725]
“It was only ever meant to be a rough estimate,” a spokesman for the British company said on Friday after U.S. lawmakers accused it of concealing the extent of the spill and as TV images showed oil sloshing into Louisiana’s marshes. [ID:nN20262611].
BP also issued a statement saying a number of methods and variables could be used in calculating the flow. Damage to the end of the pipe had distorted its diameter by about 30 percent, while a drill pipe trapped inside the riser had reduced the flow area by an additional 10 percent, it noted. [ID:nRSU3465Ma]
Reuters
5/21/10
Magnolia Tribune
