Oil cleanup could be delayed 5+ days in the gulf. The logistics of containing the oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico are mind-boggling even in ideal conditions. Add a tropical storm like the one swirling in the Caribbean and things get even more complicated.
Any system with winds over 46 mph could force BP to abandon efforts to contain the flow for up to two weeks and delay the drilling of two relief wells that are the best hope of stopping it, Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen said Saturday, shortly after Alex became the first tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season.
Forecasts show Alex churning toward Mexico and missing the northern Gulf Coast and the spill, but officials are watching closely anyway.
"We all know the weather is unpredictable and we could have a sudden, last-minute change," Allen said.
Reuters reported that Shell Oil Co said non-essential workers from production platforms and drilling rigs in U.S.-regulated areas of Gulf of Mexico farther west were being evacuated on Saturday.
Emergency plans call for moving workers and equipment five days before gale-force winds are forecast to arrive at the half-square mile containment operation surrounding the blown-out well. Oil has been gushing since the offshore drilling rig Deepwater Horizon exploded 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana on April 20, killing 11 workers.
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