BP starts burning oil from leaking ruptured well

By RAY HENRY Associated Press Writer

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Oil giant BP PLC has started burning oil siphoned from a ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico as part of its plans to more than triple the amount of crude it can stop from reaching the sea.

BP said oil and gas from the well reached a drilling rig around 1 a.m. Wednesday.

The system uses lines to suck oil from a stack of pipes near the seafloor to a drilling rig on the ocean surface. Once the oil is aboard, it's shot down a specialized boom, mixed with compressed air and ignited.

BP says the burner could incinerate anywhere from 210,000 gallons of oil to 420,000 gallons of oil daily once it's fully operational.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - BP has started its most ambitious effort to date in its attempt to capture oil flowing from its well a mile beneath the surface of the Gulf of Mexico.

Company spokesman Robert Wine said Wednesday that oil is being sucked up to a ship at the surface through lines installed in the blowout preventer at the sea floor. The oil is flowing through equipment originally installed for BP's failed "top kill" attempt to block the well with mud. The crude eventually will be burned by a massive flaring device.

Wine said crews were still testing the process early Wednesday and it was unclear whether the burn had started.

The process has the potential to significantly boost the amount of oil being contained. BP is currently containing about 630,000 gallons a day.