Tropical storm Alex endangers BP oil-siphon plan

Based on the latest federal government's estimates, BP's massive oil spill became the largest ever in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday (30 June 2010), an ominous record that underscores the oil giant's dire need to halt the gusher.

A BP company official said tropical Storm Alex may delay by a week BP PLC's plan to increase the amount of oil collected from a leaking well in the Gulf of Mexico.

Kent Wells, a BP senior vice president said waves of 10 to 12 feet would prevent BP from connecting a third rig to an underwater containment system, because that process needs three days of good weather. The rig is expected to nearly double the amount of oil siphoned from the leak to between 40,000 and 50,000 barrels a day.

The storm's winds are expected to stay far enough west of the spill to avoid any interruption to the drilling of two relief wells, which BP officials hope will completely cut off the flow of oil into the Gulf in August.