BP closer to plugging leak
BP executives celebrated some success yesterday after the oil giant moved one step closer to capturing some of the oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico.
After inserting a four-inch tube into a broken 21-inch pipe, also known as a “riser”, BP said that it had successfully completed the first stages of a siphoning process that will lead to the eventual plugging of the well.
BP’s clean-up mission had met delays over the weekend when the cord intended to bring oil up to the surface became entangled and the group was forced to abort it.
Senior executive vice president Kent Wells said yesterday that BP’s mood was positive and that this recent development is “a positive step forward”.
Wells said yesterday that once the leak is redirected to a ship currently sitting on the sea’s surface, BP will launch the “top kill” stage of the clean-up, which will involve blasting more than one thousand barrels of mud into the well.
He remained confident that there has been little impact on the shoreline. BP expects to initiate the top kill stage of the clean up within the next seven to ten days.