Oil slick headed toward Louisiana coast

NEW ORLEANS, May 10 (UPI) -- BP said Monday the Gulf of Mexico oil drilling disaster has cost it $350 million so far.

In a statement on its Web site, the British oil producer said the total includes the cost of the spill response, containment, relief well drilling, commitments to the Gulf Coast states, settlements and federal costs.

Those costs grow by the hour as the slick grows and efforts to contain it as winds push it northward toward coastal shores continue.

BP said workers were getting ready to lower a smaller containment dome over the wellhead after an attempt with a larger version failed last week. At the same time, the company said it was working on the wrecked oil well's blowout preventer to try what it called a "top kill" option to stop the flow of 5,000 barrels of oil per day from the wellhead a mile deep.

"This option will be pursued in parallel with the smaller containment dome over the next two weeks," BP said on its Web site.

"All of the techniques being attempted or evaluated to contain the flow of oil on the seabed involve significant uncertainties because they have not been tested in these conditions before."

Eleven workers from the Deepwater Horizon drill site died in the April 20 explosion that sank the rig.

Crews were ready Monday to dump sand on Louisiana's outer shores and string miles of booms to block the crude oil slick three times larger than Rhode Island from reaching fragile swamplands, officials said. The Miami Herald said helicopters were ready to dump sandbags on beaches and dredges were prepared to place sand in spots to create further barriers.

"Sandbags are getting filled, and we'll be airlifting them," said Brennan Matherne, spokesman for Lafourche Parish. "We haven't dealt with an oil spill, but we've dealt with enough hurricanes to be calm."

A U.S. Coast Guard official suggested using shredded tires, golf balls and other materials to plug the well's failed blowout preventer. But BP officials said that could be counterproductive by further damaging the equipment that may still be partially working.

"I have every confidence we'll find a good temporary solution,'' BP spokesman Mark Proegler said. "We certainly have every hope and prayer that we find a solution as soon as possible to mitigate the oil flow.''

Accuweather.com said winds pushing the slick had switched from a southeasterly direction and were now from the south. Winds of 10-18 mph were expected with higher gusts possible, producing waves 5-7 feet high by Thursday.

The weather service said the slick would either reach or get close to a large portion of the Louisiana coast. It said the area at greatest risk is from Atchafalaya Bay to Louisiana's southeastern-most point. Stretches northwest of Breton Sound will also be threatened, it said.

Accuweather said the wave action could help break up the oil slick but also reduce the efficiency of the boom system, which now runs more than 1 million feet.

The weather service's meteorologists also expressed concern about the potential for a hurricane in June.