HOUSTON — BP started up a second system to siphon oil from its gushing Gulf of Mexico leak yesterday, the company said.
It also said its containment cap system installed at the leak on June 3 collected 10,440 barrels of oil on Tuesday, lower than on previous days.
There had been a five-hour shutdown that day after a lightning strike ignited a fire on the ship collecting the oil.
The cap system had been collecting more than 15,000 barrels a day since June 8.
The second system, which started at 1 a.m. yesterday, is intended to increase collection capacity to 28,000 barrels a day.
Overall, the cap system has collected 160,400 barrels of oil since it was installed, according to BP. But the amount captured is dwarfed by the overall spill.