US Rep Markey:BP's Worst-Case Scenario Estimated 100,000 B/D Spill

By Angel Gonzalez Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES HOUSTON (Dow Jones)--U.S. Representative Ed Markey (D, Ma.) said Sunday that BP Plc's (BP) worst-case scenario for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill estimated a potential leak of 100,000 barrels of oil a day. The scenario, described in a two-page BP document released by the congressman on Sunday, could occur if the wellhead and blow-out preventer are removed from the well and the company has incorrectly modeled other restrictions to the gusher. Oil could flow at a rate as high as 100,000 per day up the well casing, or 55,000 a day up the annulus (the empty space that lies between the casing and the rock.) Those are "low probability worst cases," according to the document, which said that the expected flow rate from the leak was between 5,000 barrels a day and 40,000 barrels a day. A U.S. team of scientists currently estimates the leak at between 35,000 and 60,000 barrels a day. In a statement, Markey said that the company submitted the document to Congress at a time when the leak was estimated at 5,000 barrels a day, and BP told congressmen that the worst case scenario would be 60,000 barrels a day. BP didn't immediately return a request for comment. The company, whose chief executive Tony Hayward was grilled by Markey and other congressmen last Thursday, has come under intense criticism for its inability to gauge the catastrophic scale of the gusher. The congressmen also accused the company of taking unnecessary risks when drilling what seemed to be a dangerous well. The spill began more than two months ago, when a rig leased by BP exploded and sank in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. "Considering what is now known about BP's problems with this well prior to the Deepwater Horizon explosion, including cementing issues, leaks in the blowout preventer and gas kicks, BP should have been more honest about the dangerous condition of the well bore," said Markey, who chairs the Energy and Environment Subcommittee in the House Energy and Commerce Committee. -By Angel Gonzalez, Dow Jones Newswires; 713-547-9214;angel.gonzalez@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 20, 2010 13:12 ET (17:12 GMT)