Oil seeping from Gulf floor near well
by Mark Schleifstein - Times-Picayune (excerpt)

Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen on Sunday evening agreed to allow a cap to continue to block the flow of oil from the Deepwater Horizon wellhead, despite the discovery of oil or natural gas seeping from the floor of the Gulf of Mexico at a location away from the well. But Allen ordered BP to report any discoveries of future seeps within four hours and to follow more stringent testing rules as the testing continued. Given the current observations from the test, including the detected seep a distance from the well and undetermined anomalies at the well head, monitoring of the seabed is of paramount importance during the test period," Allen said in a letter to Bob Dudley, chief managing director of BP. "As a continued condition of the test, you are required to provide as a top priority access and coordination for the monitoring systems, which include seismic and sonar surface ships and subsea ROV and acoustic systems. "When seeps are detected, you are directed to marshal resources, quickly investigate, and report findings to the government in no more than four hours," Allen wrote. "I direct you to provide me a written procedure for opening the choke valve as quickly as possible without damaging the well should hydrocarbon seepage near the well head be confirmed." Allen also ordered BP to update him within 24 hours on how the cap testing will proceed.