Exxon Leads Oil Companies in Plan to Develop Spill Rapid-Response System

Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp.,ConocoPhillips and Royal Dutch Shell Plc plan to build anddeploy a $1 billion rapid-response system to capture and containoil in the event of a future underwater well blowout.

The four companies will contribute $250 million each towardthe creation of a non-profit organization, the Marine WellContainment Co., that will create and manage containmentequipment and responses in the Gulf of Mexico, Alan Jeffers, anExxon spokesman, said today in a phone interview.

“Exxon Mobil is taking the lead on the engineeringconstruction phase, but the plan is to set up a non-profitorganization that will ultimately manage this,” Jeffers said.“It’s still in the development stages, but we’re going to askothers to join and those who choose not to join can have accessto the equipment via commercial arrangements.”

BP Plc, which has been struggling to contain an underwateroil gusher after a Gulf rig exploded in April, wasn’t listed asa participant.

“Our focus right now is the response to the currentsituation,” Scott Dean, a BP spokesman, said in a phoneinterview. “We’ve said from early on that there will be lessonslearned from this incident and we’re sure that changes will bemade in the industry.”

As part of the new initiative led by Exxon, the biggestU.S. oil company, equipment will be designed for severalscenarios up to 10,000 feet (3,048 meters) in depth specific toconditions in the Gulf. The system will be able to mobilizewithin 24 hours and have initial capacity to contain 100,000barrels a day, according to an e-mailed statement.

Additional costs for equipment, contracts and new vesselsmay increase the $1 billion commitment, according to thestatement. The companies said in the statement that they havereviewed the system with Congress.