“In-situ (ISB) operations during the Deepwater Horizon incident demonstrated the capability of this important response tool,” the report stated. “ISB can be very effective in an oil spill response when the conditions are supportive of the technology. There was never an issue for the ISB team to find fresh, burnable oil during the response.”
Summit was a subcontractor for Elastec/American Marine, who supplied its patented Hydro-Fire Boom for use during the burning of massive amounts of oil on the ocean surface before it had a chance to wash ashore. Summit’s crew played critical roles in the oil burning operations, such as building ignition devices, communicating with overhead air support to determine burn locations and captaining ignition vessels connected by flame-resistant boom to create “burn boxes”.
Elastec’s response to the spill was the first time that in-situ burning of oil was proven in a large-scale incident. By the time the well was capped, a record 411 individual burns were conducted with some lasting up to 12 hours. On June 18 alone, an estimated 50,000-70,000 barrels of oil were removed from the ocean surface.
