The Coast Guard is overseeing efforts under way to find the source of an oil sheen near BP’s blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico. The oil company and federal scientists suspect it came from debris on the sea floor.
The Coast Guard told BP and rig owner Transocean that they must identify where the oil came from, and clean it up. Underwater robots will examine the site of the well that exploded in 2010. Wreckage of the drilling vessel remains a mile under the surface.
The sheen was spotted last month, and samples show it was oil from BP’s well. The Coast Guard says recovering that oil isn’t possible, and there’s no threat to the shoreline.
The Coast Guard will oversee the operation, expected to start next week.
