BP emails reveal company veiling spill rate estimates from well even as rig sank

NEW ORLEANS - On the same day that the Deepwater Horizon sank in the Gulf of Mexico, BP officials were warning in an internal email conversation that if the well was not protected by the blow-out preventer at the drill site crude oil could burst into the Gulf of Mexico at a rate of 3.4 million gallons (12.87 million litres) a day.

The memo suggests BP managers recognized the potential of the disaster in its early hours, and the company officials sought to make sure that the model-developed information should not be shared with those outside the company.

The emails also suggest BP was having heated discussions with Coast Guard officials over the potential of the oil spill.

It was released Friday in federal court litigation. BP agreed to release it as part of court proceedings.