Ships return to spill site as storm abates

WASHINGTON, July 24 (UPI) -- The weakening of Tropical Storm Bonnie meant ships that evacuated BP's Gulf of Mexico oil spill site could return, U.S. officials said Saturday.

The evacuation had been ordered by the British oil producer and the U.S. Coast Guard to move ships and crews out of the storm's projected path. Rough weather is still expected to hit the area, but Bonnie weakened into a tropical depression over the gulf.

Federal spill response chief Thad Allen said it would take 24 to 36 hours to get ships back to the well site so drilling can resume on two relief wells, scheduled to be completed by mid-August, The New York Times reported.

Jane Lubchenco, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said in a statement carried on the response center's Web site that the weakening storm had produced modest waves of 3 to 5 feet near the well.

"We do not expect any significant storm surge along the coast," she said. "It's expected to break tar patches and tar mass into smaller tar balls which means faster weathering and faster natural biodegradation.

"It will also cause more natural dispersion, again lowering the concentration of oil in the water and making it more available to the natural bacteria that are in the water that do this natural biodegradation."

But she warned storm surges could also push oil higher into some bayous and marshes, the Times said.

"Different shorelines will see different impacts from the storm," she said.

Allen, a retired U.S. Coast Guard admiral, provided an update on pressure readings of the wellhead damaged when the Deepwater Horizon rig platform exploded April 20, killing 11 workers and triggering an oil spill that totaled tens of millions of gallons before it was capped July 15.

"As of last night at midnight, we had 6,891 pounds per square inch pressure. This was an increase of 14 pounds per square inch over the last 24-hour time period," Allen said. "So we continue having integrity at the well head."

Allen also once the relief well drilling equipment is reconnected "we're probably looking at somewhere between seven to 10 days before we would be able to start the well intercept."