BP’s ‘Kill’ Start May Be Delayed Due to Storm Debris

BP’s “static kill” procedure may be delayed by a day because the company first has to remove debris at the bottom of the relief well drilled to permanently plug the source of the largest oil spill in the U.S. history.

The so-called static kill procedure, aimed at more fully sealing the damaged Gulf of Mexico Macondo well with mud and cement pumped from the top, may start on Aug. 3 rather than on Aug. 2, National Incident Commander Thad Allen told reporters today on a call.

Tropical Storm Bonnie, which entered the Gulf on July 23, caused some of the sediments along the sidewalls of the relief wellbore to fall inside, Allen said. BP, based in London, is removing the debris today before proceeding with running a well casing.

Macondo was shut with a stack of valves on July 15 after it was spewing oil into the Gulf for almost three months. BP plans to permanently plug it by the end of August, said Bob Dudley, who takes over as BP’s chief executive officer on Oct. 1. Dudley spoke today during a press conference in Biloxi, Mississippi.

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