BP prepares to plug Gulf oil well for good

BP engineers were preparing to pump heavy drilling mud and cement into the well in a procedure known as a “static kill,” retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, the U.S. official overseeing the federal spill response, said on Sunday.

He said the two-pronged effort to finally kill the runaway well would start “as early as Monday night” or possibly early on Tuesday with the static kill procedure.

Five to seven days later, mud and cement would be pumped in from below, via a relief well that has been dug deep into the earth, to seal the leak once and for all.

After earlier attempts to plug the well were plagued by setbacks, this week’s effort will be closely watched from Washington to London, from the Gulf coast to Wall Street.

The 104-day-old environmental disaster has devastated coastal communities, tarnished the British company’s image in the United States and cost it billions of dollars in clean-up costs. It has also eroded President Barack Obama’s approval ratings and raised tensions between Washington and London.

Allen told reporters he would travel to BP’s Houston headquarters to oversee the “static kill.” Engineers would know within hours whether the procedure had worked, he said.

Yahoo APBP engineers were preparing to pump heavy drilling mud and cement into the well in a procedure known as a “static kill,” retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, the U.S. official overseeing the federal spill response, said on Sunday.

He said the two-pronged effort to finally kill the runaway well would start “as early as Monday night” or possibly early on Tuesday with the static kill procedure.

Five to seven days later, mud and cement would be pumped in from below, via a relief well that has been dug deep into the earth, to seal the leak once and for all.

After earlier attempts to plug the well were plagued by setbacks, this week’s effort will be closely watched from Washington to London, from the Gulf coast to Wall Street.

The 104-day-old environmental disaster has devastated coastal communities, tarnished the British company’s image in the United States and cost it billions of dollars in clean-up costs. It has also eroded President Barack Obama’s approval ratings and raised tensions between Washington and London.

Allen told reporters he would travel to BP’s Houston headquarters to oversee the “static kill.” Engineers would know within hours whether the procedure had worked, he said.

Yahoo AP