Macondo cofferdam may be leaching oil

Cofferdam: Device during initial deployment

USCG

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Kathrine Schmidt

 18 October 2012 21:53 GMT

BP said Thursday that a third ROV trip has shown no leakage from the wellhead of its fateful Macondo probe that blew out in 2010.

Rather, the British supermajor and US Coast Guard believe that sheens found near the Mississippi Canyon 252 block may have seeped out of a cofferdam, one device used to try and channel oil from the runaway wildcat to the surface after the 2010 explosion and blowout.

"The Coast Guard is further evaluating what appears to be seepage from the containment dome to determine how best to respond," Duke Walker, federal on-scene co-ordinator for the response, said in a statement.

The Coast Guard estimated the flow rate at 15 oil “globules” per minute, estimated…

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