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New Orleans. A massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is even worse than believed and as the US government grows concerned that the rig’s operator is ill-equipped to contain it, officials are offering a military response to try to avert an environmental disaster.

Speaking on Thursday on NBC television, an executive for BP, which operated the oil rig that exploded and sank last week, said the company would welcome help from the US military.

“We’ll take help from anyone,” BP chief operating officer Doug Suttles said.

But time may be running out. Not only was a third leak discovered — which government officials said was spewing five times as much oil into the water as originally estimated — but it might be closer to shore than previously known, and could have oil washing up on shore by today.

At the same time, there appeared to be a rift developing between BP and the coast guard, which is overseeing the increasingly desperate operation to contain the spill and clean it up.

Coast guard Rear Adm. Mary Landry told a news conference late on Wednesday that the new leak was discharging 5,000 barrels a day of sweet crude, not the 1,000 barrels officials had estimated for days since the Deepwater Horizons drilling rig exploded and sank 80 kilometers off the Louisiana coast.

Suttles disputed the number initially, but on Thursday he agreed it could be accurate.

On Wednesday crews began an experiment to burn off parts of the slick — the latest in a series of high- and low-tech efforts to stop the leak and reel in as much of the oil as possible to prevent it from washing ashore and harming fragile wildlife and plant life.

Landry said the controlled test burn was successful late on Wednesday afternoon. BP was to set more fires after the test, but as night fell, there were no more burns and no details were given about when more were planned.

Officials had estimated about 159,000 liters of oil a day was leaking into the gulf from the blown-out well drilled by the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. That would be closer to 795,000 liters a day with the new estimates.

A graphic posted by the coast guard and the industry task force fighting the slick showed it covering an area about 160 km long and 72 km across at its widest point.

BP said work would begin as early as Thursday to drill a relief well to relieve pressure at the blowout site, but that could take months. Another option is a dome-like device to cover oil rising to the surface and pump it to container vessels, but that would take two weeks to put in place.

The cost of the disaster continues to rise and could easily top $1 billion.

 

Associated Press