Costner Promotes Oil Spill Technology Before Congress
By WENNWednesday, June 9, 2010
British Petroleum bosses are planning to use KEVIN COSTNER’s pioneering oil clean-up technology in a bid to halt the devastation in the Gulf of Mexico again after an initial experiment failed.
The oil experts used the movie star’s oil/water separator last week (ends04Jun10) but the device just became clogged with oil and the effort was abandoned.
The technology, which Costner’s brother invented in the early 1990s, will be used again after the actor addressed Congress in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday (09Jun10) during high-level talks about the oil disaster off the coast of Louisiana.
The Dances With Wolves star explained the oil vacuum invention to U.S. government officials, explaining the Costner Industries Nevada Corporation’s filtration system is designed to recycle oil.
BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles recently agreed to test out six of the devices on the oil spill that has devastated America’s Gulf Coast region since one of its rigs exploded in April (10) - and the first test took place last week.
Testifying before the House Subcommittee on the Environment about his stainless-steel devices, Costner said, “This is a technology that I believe has the potential to fight catastrophic oil spills… These will serve as the first line of defence in the oil spill clean up and recovery.”
He added, “Am I up here hawking my product? I guess… Don’t take mine, take somebody else’s because I’ve been to all these oil-response conventions… and all I see are boons and the latest helicopter, but I’ve never seen one machine that deals with getting the oil out. That’s me.”
Experts predict the 51-day disaster has already leaked between 20 million to 44 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico and beyond.
