Lawmakers to urge BP to idle its Atlantis rig

[kpete]

Source: Reuters

Lawmakers to urge BP to idle its Atlantis rig
Joshua Schneyer
NEW YORK
Wed May 19, 2010 8:02pm EDT


NEW YORK (Reuters) - A group of lawmakers will recommend BP be ordered to idle its Atlantis oil and gas platform in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico until federal regulators can prove the region's second biggest rig is operating safely.

More than 20 Democratic lawmakers signed a letter on Wednesday with language that urges the Minerals Management Service to shut down Atlantis, which pumps up to 200,000 barrels per day of crude, pending a safety probe. The letter, given to Reuters, will be delivered to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar early Thursday, congressional staff said.

"We urge MMS to listen to the expert engineer who reviewed the Atlantis situation and called for an immediate shutdown until it can be shown that this platform is operating safely," the letter said.

An earlier, February 24 letter from 19 lawmakers to the MMS urged an investigation into Atlantis's safety, months ahead of the rig explosion at BP's Macondo field in April and resulting oil spill and environmental disaster.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64I4AE20100520?type=politicsNews