HOUSTON (Reuters) - BP Plc has revamped its plan to permanently plug its ruptured Gulf of Mexico oil well in a bid to get it done quicker, the company said on Friday.
The British-based oil giant had considered a second attempt to pump cement into the Macondo well before resuming drilling on a relief well that would plug it for good. But that step could have dragged the process into late September or early October.
 |
Work continues at the site of the BP Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico in this frame grab from a BP live video feed September 3, 2010. (REUTERS/BP/Handout) |
In a statement, BP said it would instead place a lockdown device on a seal at the top of the well to secure it and that the plan had been approved by retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, the top U.S. official overseeing the spill response.
In an earlier briefing, Allen said the device will add assurance the well could withstand higher pressure once relief well drilling resumed. "It will allow us to proceed with the relief well more quickly," he said.
Allen did not give a timeline for when it would happen.
The well ruptured on April 20, leading to an explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that killed 11 men. More than 4 million barrels of oil spewed into the Gulf before BP managed to shut off all flow with a cap on July 15.
(Reporting by Kristen Hays; Editing by Paul Simao)
(For more news visit Reuters India)
Copyright © 2010 Reuters
No comments:
Post a Comment