As of now, the new well cap is holding. Doug Suttles, BP’s chief operating officer, said the company hopes to keep the damaged well shut until the relief well is completed in August and the leak is sealed off with heavy drilling mud and cement.
The integrity of the well continues to be tested. My understanding is that if they find oil seeping into the gulf, the valves will be opened and they will start to siphon the oil to barges.
A few weeks ago the sheen/oil was about 3 1/2 miles from the Destin Past…today it’s over 100! Check out this Interactive Oil Spill Tracker
You’re probably thinking why doesn’t BP just shut off the other valves to stop the leak? I’ve asked myself the same thing. Check out this CNN video with John King and Bill Nye “The Science Guy”. Bill does a great job at explaining what is happening and why BP is taking their time and being cautious about testing the new cap and shutting the valves. I love his replica of the cap!
Check out this video as posted on WKRG.com, News channel 5 showing the new containment cap being put into place. This is the first ray of hope we have had since the BP’s deepwater rig exploded in April.
BP has said the next step will be running tests to make sure there are no other leaks from the well. Tests and monitoring could last from six hours to two days.
As you know, BP had placed a “cap” on the blown-out well which is helping to funnel some of the oil to a tanker. BP removed that cap over the weekend and is replacing it with a tighter one. If the project planned is successful, it would simply mean no more oil would escape to foul the Gulf of Mexico. The well would still be busted and leaking – workers would just funnel what comes out of it to tankers at the surface.
The hope for a permanent solution still remains with two relief wells intended to plug it completely far beneath the seafloor. My understanding is the first relief well could be completed before the end of July. Time will tell…
I was showing property along 30A yesterday, and stopped in Blue Mountain to take a short video and some pictures of our beautiful white sand beaches. Oil? What oil?
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