Oil giant bids to plug gulf well

BP engineers today hope to begin a plan to permanently halt oil gushing from a blown-out oil well in the Gulf of Mexico.

The only thing keeping millions more gallons of oil out of the Gulf is an experimental cap that has held for more than two weeks, but was never meant to be permanent.

The so-called “static kill” operation attempt carries no certainty, and BP PLC engineers plan to follow it up by sending a stream of mud and cement into the bottom of the mile-deep underground reservoir through a relief well they have been digging for months.

But the oil giant’s engineers and petroleum experts say it is the clearest path yet to choke the gusher and make it even easier for the crews drilling the relief well to ensure oil can never again erupt from the deep-sea well.

As much as 184 million gallons have spewed into the Gulf since the rig connected to the well blew up in April, killing 11 workers.

The developments have the makings for an interesting week.

Darryl Bourgoyne, director of Petroleum Engineering Research Lab at Louisiana State University, said the operation “could be the beginning of the end”.

When it begins, crews will pump heavy mud through lines installed last month straight down the throat of the well.

If the mud forces the oil back into the massive underground reservoir and scientists are confident the pressure remains stable, then engineers can pump in fresh cement to seal it.

“The only thing that separates the oil from the sea now is the valve. This puts thousands of feet of mud and cement in between,” said Eric Smith, associate director of the Tulane Energy Institute.

“The idea is to have as many barriers as possible between the ocean and the reservoir. We’re adding an extra level of safety.”

Officials may then begin the process of choking the underground reservoir feeding the well by pumping mud and then cement down an 18,000ft relief well.

BP officials have long said the process is the only sure way to choke the well for good – plugging up the source of the oil, not just its route to the sea.

No oil has leaked from the well since engineers were able to fix a tightly fitting cap over its outlet two weeks ago, and boats skimming the oil and spraying subsea dispersant have been able to contain some of the spill.

But critics have raised questions about the long-term effects of the dispersant on sea life, and congressional investigators said on Saturday that the Coast Guard routinely approved BP requests to use thousands of gallons of chemicals a day, despite a federal directive to cut its use.

Retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen said yesterday that federal regulators did not ignore environmental guidelines, but that some field commanders were given the authority to allow more dispersants to be used on a case-by-case basis.