1.6 million barrels of oil in Gulf of Mexico: Jindal

HOUSTON (Reuters) - About 1.6 million barrels of oil remain in the Gulf of Mexico in spite of BP Plc'srecent success with sealing the well, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said on Tuesday, citing U.S. government data.

Jindal cited an estimate from the U.S. Coast Guard that about 5.4 million barrels of oil has spilled into the Gulf, based on U.S. scientists' estimates that the Macondo well had spewed up to 60,000 barrels (2.5 million gallons/9.5 million liters) per day before being sealed on Thursday.

The worst spill in U.S. history also has soiled about 475 miles of Louisiana shoreline, Jindal said.

"We still have tens of millions of gallons of oil out in the Gulf ... that is still headed toward our coast," Jindal said.

About 2.6 million barrels of oil have either evaporated or biodegraded, 823,000 barrels were contained by siphoning vessels while 262,000 barrels were burned and 100,000 barrels were skimmed from the surface, Jindal said, citing U.S. estimates.

(Reporting by Chris Baltimore; Editing by Bill Trott)