Reports Indicate 74% Of Oil Gone From Gulf Waters (BP)

According to a Bloomberg Bussinessweek article, about 74% of the oil that leaked into the Gulf of Mexico from a damaged BP (NYSE: BP) well is no longer in the water. The figures come from a U.S. government report.

The report, which was released by a team led by the Interior Department and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, says that the remaining oil may be in the water or on shore, buried beneath sand and sediment, or was collected from beaches. Estimates put the total amount of oil leaked from the Macondo well at around 4.9 million barrels.

This report comes on the heels of an announcement by BP today that they have reached a "significant milestone" in permanently plugging the leak through their "static kill" efforts which involve plugging the well with drilling mud.

Around 25% of the oil has evaporated or dissolved naturally into the water, BP captured 17% of the oil using equipment at the wellhead, and skimming accounted for 3%. In addition, chemicals were used to break up 8% of the oil and 16% was naturally dispersed according to the report.