BP May Attempt `Static Kill' of Well Before Aug. 1
Thad Allen, U.S. Coast Guard National Incident Commander. Photographer: Derick E. Hingle/Bloomberg
BP Plc may move up the schedule for its effort to permanently plug the Gulf of Mexico well that caused the largest oil spill in U.S. history, National Incident Commander Thad Allen said.
The so-called static kill attempt, which would involve pumping mud into the top of the well and perhaps sealing it with cement, can begin before Aug. 1 if preparations advance smoothly,Allen said today at a press conference in New Orleans.
Since capping the well July 15, London-based BP has monitored the well’s pressure and checked the seabed around it for leaks that might erupt into another gusher. Government scientists have reached a consensus that there are no leaks and none will be triggered by the static kill, Allen said.
“Pressure has slowly risen, and it’s risen in a pattern that’s consistent with a well with integrity,” Allen said. “We feel it’s safe to go ahead.”
BP rose 10.95 pence, or 2.7 percent, to 413.45 pence in London trading. It has risen 30 percent this month after losing almost half its value during the first nine weeks of the spill.
BP still needs to confirm the damaged well is plugged by intercepting it from the bottom and inserting additional cement as needed, Allen said. The company is preparing to insert a final 2,000 feet (610 meters) of steel piping before the static kill attempt can begin. Lines that will inject mud into the well from the top also need to be connected securely, Allen said.
Louisiana Talks
Talks with officials in Louisiana, the state hardest hit by the pollution, began today on how to redirect the response once all threat of a further spill ends and no more oil can be skimmed from the surface, Allen said.
According to the government, 360 miles (579 kilometers) of Louisiana’s shores were polluted by oil as of yesterday, of the total 625 miles of tarred coastline.
Louisiana’s parish presidents will be consulted on the use of idled fishing boats for tasks such as oil monitoring and recovery of boom laid to prevent oil from entering marshes and bays, Allen said. They’ll also be consulted on when the cleanup effort can stop, he said.
The disaster began April 20, when the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, which BP leased from Transocean Ltd., exploded and caught fire, causing it to sink and killing 11 workers. The well gushed from 35,000 barrels to 60,000 barrels of oil a day, a team of government and academic scientists estimated June 10.
Scientists expect to narrow the range of that estimate “in a week or so” using data gleaned from the pressure readings of the sealed well and collected during the static kill, Allen said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jim Polson in New York at jpolson@bloomberg.net
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