HOUSTON, May 25 (Reuters) - BP said it may shut off a live video link of oil spewing from a pipe connected to its leaking well in the Gulf of Mexico, when it tries its 'top kill' option to pump the well shut with mud and other material.
'It is under review,' a spokesman told Reuters. He declined to give a reason why the camera would stop broadcasting.
BP plans to start its 'top kill' plan in the coming days. The London-based company said the measure has a 60-70 percent chance to halt the leak.
Congressman Ed Markey, a harsh critic of BP's response to the tragedy, said he had learned that BP planned to shut off the camera and criticized the decision.
'It is outrageous that BP would kill the video feed for the top kill. This BP blackout will obscure a vital moment in this disaster,' he said in an emailed statement.
Oil from the slick has already begun to wash up on the shore in Louisiana and threatens to devastate the Gulf Coast.
BP has been accused of covering up the full extent of the spill after its estimate of the amount of oil leaking was shown to be too low.
(Reporting by Tom Bergin; editing by Todd Eastham)
((For full coverage of the spill, click ID:nSPILL)) Keywords: OIL RIG/VIDEO (tom.bergin@reuters.com, Reuters Messaging tom.bergin.reuters.com@reuters.net +44 207 542 1029,) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
'It is under review,' a spokesman told Reuters. He declined to give a reason why the camera would stop broadcasting.
BP plans to start its 'top kill' plan in the coming days. The London-based company said the measure has a 60-70 percent chance to halt the leak.
Congressman Ed Markey, a harsh critic of BP's response to the tragedy, said he had learned that BP planned to shut off the camera and criticized the decision.
'It is outrageous that BP would kill the video feed for the top kill. This BP blackout will obscure a vital moment in this disaster,' he said in an emailed statement.
Oil from the slick has already begun to wash up on the shore in Louisiana and threatens to devastate the Gulf Coast.
BP has been accused of covering up the full extent of the spill after its estimate of the amount of oil leaking was shown to be too low.
(Reporting by Tom Bergin; editing by Todd Eastham)
((For full coverage of the spill, click ID:nSPILL)) Keywords: OIL RIG/VIDEO (tom.bergin@reuters.com, Reuters Messaging tom.bergin.reuters.com@reuters.net +44 207 542 1029,) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.