The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Thursday issued a directive requiring BP to identify and use a less toxic and more effective dispersant from the list of EPA authorized dispersants.

Dispersants are a chemical used to break up oil into small droplets so that they are more easily degraded.

The directive requires BP to identify a less toxic alternative - to be used both on the surface and under the water at the source of the oil leak - within 24 hours and to begin using the less toxic dispersant within 72 hours of submitting the alternative.

If BP is unable to identify available alternative dispersant products, BP must provide the Coast Guard and EPA with a detailed description of the alternative dispersants investigated, and the reason they believe those products did not meet the required standards.

Meanwhile, BP has provided an update on developments in the response to the MC252 oil well incident in the Gulf of Mexico.

Subsea Source Control and Containment Subsea efforts continue to focus on progressing options to stop the flow of oil from the well through interventions via the blow out preventer (BOP), and to collect the flow of oil from the leak points. These efforts are being carried out in conjunction with governmental authorities and other industry experts.

The volume of oil and gas being collected by the riser insertion tube tool (RITT) containment system at the end of the leaking riser is estimated to be about 3,000 barrels a day (b/d) of oil and some 14 million standard cubic feet a day of gas. The oil is being stored and gas is being flared on the drillship Discoverer Enterprise, on the surface 5,000 feet above.

This remains a new technology and both its continued operation and its effectiveness in capturing the oil and gas remain uncertain.

BP also continues to develop options to shut off the flow of oil from the well through interventions via the failed BOP.

Tags: BP PLC