The British energy giant had been poised to deploy a "top hat" containment box at the end of a mile-long pipe to funnel up the crude, but like a larger predecessor lowered last weekend this became clogged with ice-like crystals.

"BP has decided to proceed with a tube that will be inserted into the riser to seal the leak and that tube would then siphon oil to a tanker on the surface," BP spokesman John Crabtree told AFP. "They are going to begin the process Thursday evening."

Crabtree said the six-inch (15-centimeter) tube would be inserted into the leaking pipe, which is 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) down on the sea floor, by remote-controlled submarines.

The Deepwater Horizon rig, leased by BP from Transocean, the world's largest offshore drilling contractor, sank on April 22, two days after a massive explosion that killed 11 workers.

An estimated 210,000 gallons of crude a day has been streaming into the sea from a fractured pipe and has created a giant slick threatening enormous environmental damage to Louisiana's ecologically fragile coast.

The insertion tube is being placed directly into the riser pipe where a main leak is gushing out some 85 percent of the escaping crude.

Crabtree said the "top hat" would still be an option if the insertion tube procedure is not successful.

"They were both there, they were being evaluated as options," Crabtree said. "The insertion into the riser was deemed to be the better option. If it isn't successful the top hat is available."

earlier related report
BP readies new bid to contain Gulf of Mexico spill
New Orleans, Louisiana (AFP) May 13, 2010 - BP was poised Thursday for a fresh bid to contain the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, hoping its "top hat" box can funnel leaking crude up a mile-long pipe into a waiting tanker.

Operations could begin as early as Thursday, as congressional hearings revealed multiple warning signs were overlooked before the April 20 blast on the BP-operated Deepwater Horizon rig.

The indicators of things being wrong included a key pressure test that failed during final operations to seal the well being drilled about 50 miles (80 kilometers) offshore.

Two days later the rig sank and because the blowout preventer -- a giant valve designed to shut off the flow of oil -- failed, an estimated 210,000 gallons of crude a day has been streaming into the sea from a fractured pipe ever since.

An attempt last weekend to contain the leaking oil with a giant dome was undone when high pressure and cold seawater at depth caused ice-like crystals to form, rendering the structure too buoyant.

Engineers are now mulling several different options to seal the main leak which has spewed out an estimated 4.5 million gallons so far, and prevent a giant slick from destroying Louisiana's ecologically fragile coast.

In addition to the "top hat", BP is contemplating a bizarre "junk shot" maneuver to jam up the blowout preventer (BOP) with golf balls, tires, rope and other debris.

"This would involve first injecting material of varying densities and sizes into the internal spaces of the BOP to provide a seal, before pumping specialized heavy fluids into the well to prevent further flow up the well," BP explained on its website.

A third option involves sealing a pipe directly over the main leak. The riser insertion tube would operate in much the same way as the "top hat," the crude would simply stream up through the pipe to the waiting tanker.

During two days of congressional hearings, top oil executives from BP, rig owner Transocean and Halliburton, which was being paid to seal the well, have traded blame over the disaster, which claimed the lives of 11 workers.

"The more I learn about this accident, the more concerned I become," House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman said Wednesday as US lawmakers sifted through 100,000 pages of testimony.

"This catastrophe appears to have been caused by a calamitous series of equipment and operational failures."

One of the main questions is why BP or Transocean decided to go ahead with final operations to seal the well despite the test that apparently indicated highly combustible gas could have penetrated the well.

Citing accounts by two contractors, The Wall Street Journal said a decision was taken to conduct the final operations in reverse, meaning the drilling "mud," or lubricant, was withdrawn before a final cement plug was inserted.

If new efforts fail to stem the tide of leaking oil, southern US Gulf states from Texas to Florida face an anxious wait with environmental doom looming.

BP began drilling a relief well on May 2 that could divert the flow until the well is permanently sealed, but this may not be ready until August.

Louisiana's 2.4 billion dollar fisheries industry has already been hit by a ban on fishing and shrimp harvesting in a large swath of coastal waters.

Clean-up teams are seeing oil wash up on island nature reserves in Louisiana and National Guard troops in hazmat gear have been scooping up tar balls off beaches on Dauphin Island, a popular Alabama tourist spot.

Transocean, which BP is blaming for the failure of the blowout preventer, filed a petition in a US court Thursday to limit its liability in the spill to 27 million dollars.

Asked if his job was on the line, under-fire BP chief executive said: "I don't at the moment. That of course may change. I will be judged by the nature of the response. Investors have so far been very supportive."

Hayward cautioned in the interview with Britain's Guardian newspaper against "unwise" judgements about the possible cause of the accident. "There is a lot of speculation, red herrings and hearsay," he said.

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