Coast Guard:Efforts To Contain Smaller Gulf Well Leak To Begin Sunday

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--The U.S. Coast Guard said that operations will begin Sunday to secure a leak at a well offshore Louisiana. The leak began after the well was hit by a towing vessel four days ago. "When the source is secured, a cap will be installed to ensure the wellhead is permanently closed," the Coast Guard said in a statement Saturday. A sheen was seen across six miles, but the size of this leak is a tiny fraction of the massive oil leak that began in late April after the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig caught fire and sank. The newer second leak is taking place at an idled well. It has been spewing a mixture of oil, natural gas and water into Barataria Waterway when a vessel towing a barge hit the wellhead on Tuesday about 1 a.m. local time, the Coast Guard said in a written statement Saturday. About 52,800 feet of containment boom and 31 skimmers, boats and barges are being used to clean up the spill. And equipment needed to secure the leak, including two barges, will be deployed to the site to secure the wellhead starting Sunday morning. The Coast Guard said Friday that Chevron Corp. (CVX) and BP PLC (BP, BP.LN) pipelines in the area were marked to protect them from the vessels anchoring in the area. The clean-up is being funded by the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, which is supported by taxes paid by oil companies. The cause of the collision is under investigation. -By Naureen S. Malik, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-4210; naureen.malik@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 31, 2010 16:30 ET (20:30 GMT)