UPDATE: BP: Temporary Shut-Down On Discoverer Enterprise After Fire

(Adds details on oil recovery efforts.) HOUSTON (Dow Jones)--BP PLC (BP) on Tuesday shut down its oil containment and recovery operation in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico as a safety precaution, following a fire aboard the vessel that has been processing the oil. This is the latest snag in the company's two-month effort to contain oil spewing from the broken Macondo well at rates estimated by scientists at 20,000 to 40,000 barrels a day. Around 9:30 a.m. CDT, a small fire was observed at the top of the derrick on the Discoverer Enterprise, the collection ship. The fire, believed to have been ignited by a lightning strike, was quickly extinguished, BP said in a statement. A BP official wasn't immediately available for comment Tuesday afternoon. The Discoverer Enterprise had been collecting about 15,000 barrels of oil a day and flaring off natural gas. BP's statement didn't say how the fire would affect the ship's collection rate on Tuesday. However, the Discoverer Enterprise should be up and running this afternoon, the company said in a 1:30 p.m. CDT news release. On Tuesday, the company had planned to ramp up the use of another ship, the Q4000, in an effort to increase its capture rate to between 20,000 and 28,000 barrels a day. The vessel has been retrofitted to flare off about 5,000 to 10,000 barrels of oil a day. There was no word Tuesday on whether BP's Q4000 plans have come to fruition. There were no injuries in the fire. -By Susan Daker and Cassandra Sweet, Dow Jones Newswires, 713-547-9208; susan.daker@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 15, 2010 15:17 ET (19:17 GMT)