July 17, 2010
Day 88
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More than 48 hours have passed since the latest capping and it appears to be holding.
BP Sr VP Kent Wells:
The longer the test goes the more confidence we have in it. There’s no evidence we don’t have integrity.
Pressure reading 6745 psi.
Expected reading 8-9000 psi to absolutely conclude the well has integrity.
Adm Allen announced the testing will be extended until Sunday afternoon.
As we continue to see success in the temporary halt of oil from the leak, the US government and BP have agreed to allow the well integrity test to continue another 24 hours.
Resources being deployed:
-Visual/acoustic ROV monitoring at site for leaks
-Seismic mapping ;
to watch for cracks in the sea floor
-NOAA ship testing for subsea hydrocarbons
Once the testing period is concluded, operations will return to containment using the new sealing cap with both the Helix Producer and Q4000.
Curious how the capped well and barry’s vacation coincide.
July 18 Adm Allen:
Work must continue to better understand the lower than expected pressure readings. This work centers on two plausible scenarios, depletion of oil from the reservoir and potential leakage caused by damage to the well bore or casing.
While we are pleased that no oil is currently being released into the Gulf of Mexico and want to take all appropriate action to keep it that way, it is important that all decisions are driven by the science. Ultimately, we must ensure no irreversible damage is done which could cause uncontrolled leakage from numerous points on the sea floor.
