Related News
BP runs crucial test on Gulf oil leak
Source: Agencies |
July 15, 2010, Thursday
|
Online Edition
Online Edition
BP Plc was running a crucial test today on its ruptured Gulf of Mexico oil well that could stanch the flow of crude that has polluted the ocean and shoreline since April.
BP began the process last night, which could stretch up to 48 hours. The British energy giant began the tests after getting the green light from top US government officials who had delayed the plan by 24 hours on concerns the process could irreparably damage the well.
If tests, which will be assessed every six hours, show that closing the cap might cause further damage to the well, the capping device could instead be used as part of a complex system to capture the oil and siphon it to ships on the surface.
Kent Wells, BP's senior vice president of exploration and production, said undersea robots working a mile (1.6 km) below the surface had started shutting a series of three valves designed to ultimately stop the oil flow completely.
Critically, BP has closed the main valve in the middle of the cap, "and we no longer have flow out the top," Wells said.
BP said late yesterday it had isolated a leak it detected in a line connected to one of the valves and was repairing it before proceeding with the test.
The developments will be watched by investors on Thursday as BP's ultimate costs may hinge on how much oil is judged to have flown freely into the Gulf. The disaster is the largest offshore oil spill in US history.
On Wednesday, shares in BP ended 2.3 percent down in London in slow trading and were off about 1.9 percent in New York, with some analysts saying investors were likely cashing in profits ahead of further news on the new cap.
After losing over half of its market value at one point in the wake of the April 20 rig explosion that killed 11 workers and unleashed a flow of crude, its share price had been staging a rally, spurred by talk that company executives were seeking investors and optimism of a turning point in the spill. day of intense deliberation that reached the level of President Barack Obama and his Cabinet, reflecting the stakes involved.
Retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, who is overseeing the US response to the spill, has said if tests show the well can withstand certain pressures, odds are good it could be "shut in" indefinitely.
The disaster has soiled hundreds of miles (km) of shoreline, shut down about a third of Gulf fisheries, put BP on the hook for billions of dollars in cleanup costs and legal liabilities and prompted Obama to temporarily halt deepwater drilling.
BP began the process last night, which could stretch up to 48 hours. The British energy giant began the tests after getting the green light from top US government officials who had delayed the plan by 24 hours on concerns the process could irreparably damage the well.
If tests, which will be assessed every six hours, show that closing the cap might cause further damage to the well, the capping device could instead be used as part of a complex system to capture the oil and siphon it to ships on the surface.
Kent Wells, BP's senior vice president of exploration and production, said undersea robots working a mile (1.6 km) below the surface had started shutting a series of three valves designed to ultimately stop the oil flow completely.
Critically, BP has closed the main valve in the middle of the cap, "and we no longer have flow out the top," Wells said.
BP said late yesterday it had isolated a leak it detected in a line connected to one of the valves and was repairing it before proceeding with the test.
The developments will be watched by investors on Thursday as BP's ultimate costs may hinge on how much oil is judged to have flown freely into the Gulf. The disaster is the largest offshore oil spill in US history.
On Wednesday, shares in BP ended 2.3 percent down in London in slow trading and were off about 1.9 percent in New York, with some analysts saying investors were likely cashing in profits ahead of further news on the new cap.
After losing over half of its market value at one point in the wake of the April 20 rig explosion that killed 11 workers and unleashed a flow of crude, its share price had been staging a rally, spurred by talk that company executives were seeking investors and optimism of a turning point in the spill. day of intense deliberation that reached the level of President Barack Obama and his Cabinet, reflecting the stakes involved.
Retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, who is overseeing the US response to the spill, has said if tests show the well can withstand certain pressures, odds are good it could be "shut in" indefinitely.
The disaster has soiled hundreds of miles (km) of shoreline, shut down about a third of Gulf fisheries, put BP on the hook for billions of dollars in cleanup costs and legal liabilities and prompted Obama to temporarily halt deepwater drilling.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
