Gulf oil spill: Two oil rigs shut down, one evacuated as a precaution

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The federal Mineral Management Service reports that two oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico have stopped production because of the gulf oil spill, and one has been evacuated as a safety measure because of the ongoing well-head blowout spewing 5,000 barrels of oil a day into the gulf’s waters.

Approximately 6.2 million cubic feet of natural gas is shut-in, representing less than one-tenth of a percent of daily gas production in the Gulf of Mexico, minerals management officials said.

Response crews worked through the night using a remotely operated vessel to dispense 3,000 gallons of sub-surface dispersant at a rate of nine gallons per minute. BP and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are evaluating the results of the test procedure to determine its feasibility for continued use.

Four states along the gulf are in a state of emergency awaiting landfall of the slick, which has hit several outlying island areas of Louisiana at the edges of the Mississippi Delta. Efforts to place booms are continuing.

-- Geoff Mohan