Secretaries ask BP to restate commitment

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar wrote to the chief executive officer of BP PLC to praise statements from the oil giant that it would not attempt to cap its liability in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill cleanup.

But in their May 14 letter, released publicly Saturday, Napolitano and Salazar expressed concern that BP could attempt to argue in favor of the $75 million federal liability cap for damages in the Gulf of Mexico spill.

"Based on these statements, we understand that BP will not in any way seek to rely on the potential $75 million statutory cap to refuse to provide compensation to any individuals or others harmed by the oil spill, even if more than $75 million is required to provide full compensation to all claimants, and BP will not seek reimbursement from the American taxpayers, the United States Government, or the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund for any amount," the secretaries wrote.

A BP spokesperson reiterated Sunday that the company remains committed to paying all legitimate claims of damage from the spill, which could reach into billions of dollars, according to expert estimates.

To its credit, BP has not backed down from that position since the oil spill began nearly a month ago on April 20.

BP CEO Anthony Hayward told Reuters news wire on April 30, "We are taking full responsibility for the spill and we will clean it up, and where people can present legitimate claims for damages we will honor them. We are going to be very, very aggressive in all of that."

BP Chairman Lamar McKay repeated that position in an appearance before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee May 11: "BP will pay all necessary clean up costs and is committed to paying legitimate claims for other loss and damages caused by the spill."

BP executives have called the $75 million liability cap set under the Oil Pollution Act "irrelevant" and have vowed to pay costs above and beyond that figure, the May 14 letter noted.

BP's renewed vow to pay legitimate damages beyond the cap came as the company attempted to stem the flow of oil from its damaged well with a riser insertion tube tool containment system Sunday. The tool is carrying leaking oil up to a "drillship" named Discoverer Enterprise, the company said.

"Produced oil is being stored on the drillship while produced gas is being flared," BP said in a statement Monday. "It is expected that it will take some time to increase the flow through the system and maximize the proportion of oil and gas flowing through the broken riser that will be captured and transported to the drillship."

The tube tool system relies on a 4-inch diameter pipe inserted into the broken well pipe and connected to the drillship.

"This remains a new technology and both its continued operation and its effectiveness in capturing the oil and gas remains uncertain. Other containment options continue to be progressed," the company said.

Napolitano and Salazar released a joint statement Sunday to stress that it was too early to declare success after BP's use of the riser insertion tube tool.

"Today, BP attempted another test to contain some of the oil leaking from the riser," the US Cabinet members wrote. "This technique is not a solution to the problem, and it is not yet clear how successful it may be. We are closely monitoring BP's test with the hope that it will contain some of the oil, but at the same time, federal scientists are continuing to provide oversight and expertise to BP as they move forward with other strategies to contain the spill and stop the flow of oil. We will not rest until BP permanently seals the wellhead, the spill is cleaned up, and the communities and natural resources of the Gulf Coast are restored and made whole."

Napolitano and Salazar have teamed up to oversee federal efforts to guide the oil spill cleanup as the US Coast Guard and the Minerals Management Service have led the government response to the disaster.