BP Relief Well Close, Gulf Oil Spill Nears End With Well’s Top Kill
Top kill and relief well combo provide relief for Gulf oil spill
Proposed relief well is touted as insurance policy as leaking source of gulf oil spill receives top kill. According to retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, head of the government’s oil spill response, BP tentatively expects to divert the ruptured well by means of the closer of two relief wells on approximately August 14 or 15.
Implementing the “static kill” which involved pumping drilling mud and cement into the upper part the deep well pipe earlier in the week will likely plug the well permanently, Allen has instructed BP to proceed with a final “bottom kill” involving pumping more mud and cement into the well through one of two newly drilled relief wells.
“The bottom kill amounts to an insurance policy,” according to Allen.
Meanwhile, BP’s point man on the oil-disaster response, Doug Suttles, said on Friday that crews are moving forward with their plans to complete the first relief well and perform the bottom kill concurrently. The administrating authority will then determine whether the cement pumped into the top of the well has hardened enough to be effective on a permanent basis.
As hydraulic cement hardened Friday in the ruptured deep water well, Admiral Thad Allen said that preparations for more drilling on the first Gulf of Mexico relief well would continue as expected.
“Sometime next week, crews expect to alternate drilling with what is referred t as ranging runs, which use an electronic current to gauge locations in depths up to thousands of feet deep,” Allen said. Meanwhile, drilling on the second relief well, which was created as a redundant safety measure, is currently on hold.
Meanwhile, BP finished pouring cement down the deep water well on Thursday as part of the proposed “static kill,” completing the job earlier than expected. The process took approximately six hours to complete.
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