BP’s latest bid to plug well could be this weekend

BP could begin a so-called “static kill” to plug its blown-out Gulf of Mexico oil well by this weekend if bad weather does not force a delay, the top U.S. official overseeing the spill response said on Wednesday.

Retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen said at a briefing that if he approves the effort, BP could begin pumping heavy drilling fluid and cement into the stricken Macondo well from the top.

The static kill effort is intended to complement BP’s ongoing effort to use a relief well to permanently plug the well a mile under the ocean surface.

Kent Wells, BP’s senior vice president of exploration and production, said in a separate briefing that the static kill might stop the leak on its own.

“We will continue on with the relief well. Even if the static kill kills the well, we will confirm that with the relief well,” he said.

This would mark BP’s latest in a string of efforts to tackle the massive oil leak that began three months ago.

The relief well remains on track to intercept the Macondo well by the end of July and kill the leak by mid-August, though bad weather could cause a delay, Wells said.

Allen and Wells said the relief well needs one last set of piping, or casing, cemented in place to hold it open before a drill bit can bore into the Macondo well near its bottom 13,000 feet below the seabed, Allen said.

“Once the casing is in place, the static kill can proceed by this weekend,” Allen said.

Wells said BP needs two to four days to position the casing and cement it in place. Then the static kill could take place in one day, he said.

Reuters