White House Seeks $10 Million for Potential Lawsuits From Gulf Oil Spill

WASHINGTON -- The White House is asking Congress to approve $10 million for potential litigation costs arising from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

It's part of a larger legislative package the administration sent to Congress this week including help for fishermen and a proposal to raise limits on how much BP might have to pay for economic damages from the spill.

A letter from the Office of Management and Budget to congressional leaders says the $10 million would help the Justice Department pay unspecified litigation costs the administration might not be able to recover from BP or from an emergency cleanup fund.

The White House wants to make BP pay all costs, but the request is the latest indication that some burden may fall on taxpayers.

BP officials said Thursday they would thread a small tube into a jagged pipe on the seafloor to suck oil to the surface before it can spew into the Gulf and add to a disaster apparently set in motion by a long list of equipment failures.

Engineers will have to make sure the 6-inch-wide tube is inserted deep enough into the 21-inch-wide pipe so gas and seawater don't mix, which can form crystals that could clog the tube. They'll also have to thread the tube into the pipe without hitting debris around the riser.

The smaller tube will be surrounded by a stopper to keep oil from leaking into the sea. The tube will then siphon the crude to a tanker at the surface, though BP declined to estimate how much oil the tube will be able to collect.

Company spokesman Bill Salvin said engineers hope to start moving the tube into place Thursday night, but it will take 12 hours to get the tube fully hooked up. Another option is a small containment box called a "top hat," which is already on the seafloor and also would siphon oil to a tanker on the surface.

Officials are waiting to use the box until they know if the tube works, and how well it's working, Salvin said. Engineers still might consider trying to fill the leak with golf balls and other debris -- the "junk shot," though that won't be until at least next week. And a relief well is being drilled, but that is at least two months away.

BP's updates came a day after hearings in Washington and Louisiana uncovered a checklist of unseen breakdowns on largely unregulated aspects of well safety that apparently contributed to the April 20 blowout aboard the Deepwater Horizon: a leaky cement job, a loose hydraulic fitting, a dead battery. Company officials insist what caused the accident is not yet clear.

The trail of problems highlights the reality that, even as the U.S. does more deepwater offshore drilling in a quest for domestic oil, some key safety components are left almost entirely to the discretion of the companies doing the work.