Three quarters of BP oil spill cleaned up

Successful clean up?

According to a statement from the US government, almost three-quarters of the catastrophic BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has been "cleaned up or broken down by natural forces".

Speaking to the press, White House energy adviser Carol Browner said that only a quarter of the leaked oil posed any further danger to the US environment and coastal communities, saying that the majority of the oil had "either been captured, burned off, or evaporated."

The news came hours after BP announced that its ‘Static Kill' procedure to finally seal the leaking oil well had been successful, ending almost three months of oil spilling in to the ocean since the DeepHorizon oil rig caught fire and sunk.

In her statement, Carol Browner said that the next report on the clean-up will be released on Wednesday and that the results were ‘encouraging'.

"The scientists are telling us about 25 percent was not captured or evaporated or taken care of by mother nature," Browner said. "This is an initial assessment by our scientists in the government and outside the government. We think it's important to make this available to the public. That's what we'll be doing today."

Static Kill successful

The procedure to seal the leaking well, known as ‘Static Kill', thus far looks to be successful as BP said the plan to pump mud into the well to force the oil back into the reservoir had worked.

The oil company said that the well pressure was now being controlled by the pressure of the mud, which was the ‘desired outcome' of the procedure.

In a statement, BP spokeswoman Sheila Williams said: "The well appears to have reached a static condition - a significant milestone."

"The well is now being monitored, per the procedure, to ensure the well remains static. Further pumping of mud may or may not be required depending on the results observed during monitoring."

Despite the positive reports, the clean-up is expected to take years with 4.9 million barrels of oil reportedly spilling into the Gulf over the past three months.

Relevant articles:

Static Kill to seal Gulf oil well | BP oil spill cost is $32.2 billion | Gulf clean-up hampered by storm

Timon Singh

Timon Singh is a graduate of Liverpool University where he received a degree in Social and Economic History. He has previously worked for BBC Magazines on BBC Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine, the publication for the popular genealogy show.

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