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BY BOB HOLT
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
The Interior Department's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement believes that a 10-mile oil sheen discovered in the central Gulf of Mexico was caused by an act of nature.
Royal Dutch Shell has two platforms that operate in the area, and they sent a remotely-operated vehicle to investigate.
“The vehicle was able to investigate a known natural seafloor seep as the likely source of the sheen using information from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management that identifies where natural seeps are known to be located,” BSEE spokeswoman Eileen Angelico said, according to the Houston Chronicle. “Initial reports from Shell show that the seep is currently releasing oil and natural gas.”
Shell has stressed the sheen did not come from their operations. An oil sheen of that size can start from a platform, well, tanker, or develop from a natural seep.
The company said a “thorough inspection” showed no signs of an oil leak from the production area. “We have also confirmed there are no well control issues at our drilling operations in the area," Shell said, according to UPI.com.
An Associated Press story on Boston.com reported that the 10-mile sheen appeared to be dissipating. Shell said they estimated the sheen at about 252 gallons of oil, or six barrels. Earlier in the week, a tanker in the Mississippi River south of New Orleans spilled around 50 gallons of oil, and the sheen went nearly 30 miles downriver.
The two-year anniversary of the oil spill disaster at the Macando well in the Gulf is April 20. According to the Alaska Dispatch, BP, the primary stakeholder at Macondo, holds a stake in both Shell operations.
