With a storm threatening to disrupt oil-siphoning efforts at BP Plc's blown-out Gulf of Mexico well, the U.S. Coast Guard today said collection efforts would be suspended five days before the forecast onset of gale-force winds, Reuters reported. A tropical disturbance over the western Caribbean could deal a big setback to efforts by BP to contain oil gushing from the well, estimated by the U.S. government at up to 60,000 barrels (2.5 million gallons/9.5 million liters) per day. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, the U.S. government's point man on the oil spill, said it would be necessary five days before gale force winds are forecast to arrive to take down operations involving ships and other equipment siphoning some of the oil spewing from BP's ruptured deep-sea well. During this period, the oil could flow unchecked from the ruptured well into the sea for up to 14 days, Allen said. The U.S. National Weather Service defines gale force winds as 39 mph (63 kph) to 54 mph (87 kph). When referring to gale force winds, Allen mentioned "about 40 knots," which is 46 mph (74 kph). "Our threshold to begin taking action is 120 hours before gale force winds are forecasted," Allen said. Two oil-capture systems siphon oil from the leak to a drillship and a service rig a mile (1.6 km) above the well at the water's surface. Both use fixed pipes that require days to disconnect and allow the vessels to move out of the path of a storm, officials have said. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the tropical disturbance over the western Caribbean Sea continued to strengthen, and has a high 70 percent chance of developing into a tropical depression over the next two days. Some forecast models predict it will go into the central or eastern Gulf of Mexico, where BP is struggling to plug the leak.
