BP oil spill workers in the Gulf of Mexico prepared for a possible evacuation today as a brewing tropical storm threatened more delays in attempts to end the environmental disaster.
US officials said they would decide tonight whether to unhook surface ships and evacuate the site, but said the blown-out well would remain capped even if an evacuation forces a temporary halt to undersea surveillance.
Some oil-skimming ships came ashore and the Gulf seas grew more choppy as a tropical storm formed in the Caribbean near the Bahamas. The storm is projected to swirl across the Gulf near the site where crews are working to plug the spill.
"We have determined that if we have to evacuate the site, we are prepared to leave the well capped," retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen told reporters at a briefing.
BP evacuated nonessential workers from eight operated offshore Gulf facilities, but the evacuations did not affect operations at the spill.
Ships in the region need several days to disengage from the operation and head to safety.
"It's very possible that we could have wave heights that could exceed the operational envelope for all platforms," Mr Allen said of the storm. "It will probably have some significant impacts."
The largest offshore oil spill in US history, triggered by an April 20th explosion that killed 11 workers, has unleashed an environmental disaster in the Gulf and devastated the region's tourist and fishing industries.
BP capped the well last week, choking off the flow of oil for the first time since the explosion.
The company is conducting pressure tests on the capped well, but those also would be halted by an evacuation.
Workers also had been close to completing a relief well designed to permanently stop the spill and to launching a "static kill" operation to pump heavy drilling mud and possibly cement into the well.
An evacuation at spill sites could force a delay of 10 to 14 days in operations to permanently plug the leaking well.
The spill has sparked a crisis for British energy giant BP, which created a $20 billion fund to compensate victims of the disaster. Company shares remained relatively steady in New York, climbing 0.4 per cent.
President Barack Obama, who has been under pressure over the spill, will spend the August 14 weekend along the hard-hit Florida Gulf Coast, the White House announced.
Reuters