A relief well must be completed that will seal the ruptured well that was the source of the BP oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. BP had suggested that the relief well might be used to pump oil, given the static kill which stopped the leak last month is holding fast. Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the Obama administration’s director of the oil leak response, suggested earlier that the “bottom kill” from the relief well may not be necessary. After pressure tests on the well, he confirmed Friday the bottom kill from the relief well would proceed as prepared.
Allen: no bottom kill not an option
Over the last week BP vacillated on its commitment to pump cement through the relief well for the bottom kill. The New York Times reports that BP and government scientists conducted the tests to determine the effectiveness of the static kill, in which heavy mud had been pumped into the Macondo well, followed by cement. The static kill fully sealed the well as evidenced by the tests. About 1,000 barrels of oil is still trapped within the well according to BP estimates, Allen said. The government said work on the relief well will continue until the gusher is permanently plugged.
Static kill – no guarantees
When the static kill was complete, BP engineers were assured that cement had plugged the metal casing pipe within the well. However, it couldn’t be determined for certain whether the cement had reached the annulus–the space separating the pipe from the well bore. According to the tests, The Los Angeles Times reports that tests show the leak totally sealed by the mud and cement pumped through the well’s blowout preventer. Allen said the relief well needed to be the final step because it could not be guaranteed the static kill would close all the possible paths for oil to leak from the well.
Relief well close to objective
The first relief well commenced drilling in early May. The Associated Press reports that in a few months the drill has travelled about 3 miles from the surface and two miles under the ocean floor to come within just 30 to 50 feet of the Macondo well. The drill, about as wide as a grapefruit is round, is pursuing a target less than half the diameter of a dartboard. BP and government officials say its completion date is yet to be determined.
New York Times
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Los Angeles Times
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Associated Press
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