BP's Gulf Well Ahead of Schedule to Intercept Leak
The drilling is 'slightly ahead of schedule,' U.S. National Incident Commander Thad Allen said. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
BP Plc’s first relief well aimed at plugging its Gulf of Mexico gusher is seven to eight days ahead of schedule to intercept and eventually stop the biggest oil leak in U.S. history.
The target date for intercepting the leaking well and pumping in mud and cement to permanently seal it is still mid- August, U.S. National Incident Commander Thad Allen said today on a conference call with reporters. The well is within 600 feet (182 meters) of intercepting the leak, he said.
“They are ahead of schedule at this point,” Allen said. “I am reluctant to tell you that it will happen before the middle of August because I think that everything associated with this spill and response recovery suggests that we should under- promise and over-deliver.”
BP diverted 25,150 barrels of oil from the leaking well to surface vessels yesterday. The Macondo well is estimated to be spewing 35,000 to 60,000 barrels a day, according to a government-led panel of scientists. The well started leaking after an April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon, causing the drilling rig to sink and killing 11 crew members.
Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc analysts David Cline and Barry MacCarthy said the first relief well may be completed between July 7 and July 12, according to a note to clients yesterday. Pritchard Capital Partners LLC analysts Brian Uhlmer, Anuj Sharma and William Conroy said in a June 29 note that the well would be intercepted between July 7 and July 9.
Share Price
BP fell 5.9 pence, or 1.8 percent, to 322 pence at 4:35 p.m. in London today. The shares, which have dropped 51 percent since the explosion, rose 5.7 percent for the week, the first weekly gain since the explosion aboard the rig.
The connection of an additional ship that would double the oil-containment capacity was delayed this week because of Hurricane Alex. The Helix Producer I may be connected July 7, Allen said. Choppy seas associated with Alex also halted efforts to skim oil from the surface of the water. The hurricane didn’t affect relief drilling, London-based BP has said.
BP is bouncing electromagnetic waves through rock to measure the distance between the relief well and the interception target, said Bob Dudley, chief executive officer of the company’s Gulf Coast restoration unit.
The intended intersection is more than 17,000 feet below the ocean surface including about 5,000 feet of water, according to technical slides released by BP. The first relief well is 11,817 feet below the seafloor, Allen said. A second relief well, being drilled as a backup, is 7,775 feet below the seafloor.
Drilling Parallel
Another 600 feet remain for the drilling parallel to the Macondo well. The process is slow, Allen said, as BP pauses every 10 feet to 15 feet so it can measure the distance between the two.
Once they hit the Macondo well, it will take BP two to five days to plug it, Allen said. The process involves injecting drilling mud into the well until its weight causes enough pressure to stop the oil flow.
Asked about the chances for the relief wells’ success, Allen said yesterday they are “proven” technology.
“Relief wells are things that these companies have done before, not just BP but all the companies,” Allen said at a White House briefing. “The methods they’re using, the technology they’re using, it’s all been proven in the water, on land.”
To contact the reporters on this story: Jordan Burke in New York at jburke29@bloomberg.net; Jessica Resnick-Ault in New York at jresnickault@bloomberg.net
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