Statement from BSEE, April 16, 2012 as of 2:30 p.m. CDT
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) has confirmed that a modest amount of oil is being released from a natural seafloor seep previously suspected as the source of an oil sheen reported last week in the Gulf of Mexico. BSEE, along with natural seeps experts from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, viewed videotape from a remote operated vehicle survey deployed by Shell to make the final determination confirming the on-going release of oil from the natural seep.
Wednesday, at 12:30 pm CDT, BSEE personnel, while offshore, spotted an oil sheen in the central Gulf of Mexico, approximately 130 miles southeast of New Orleans, LA,. BSEE immediately notified Shell, the operator of the Mars and Ursa platforms, which are the operations nearest the observed sheen.