BP's 'Top Kill' Plan Set But Could Worsen Leak --

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BP set to smother oil leak with mud

EXCERPT ---

Leak could worsen

But the top kill procedure could also make the leak worse.

Engineers were doing at least 12 hours of diagnostic tests on Tuesday, checking five spots on the well's crippled five-storey blowout preventer to make sure it can withstand the heavy force of the mud.

A weak spot in the device could blow under the pressure, causing a brand new leak. The mud could also tear a new hole in the leaking well pipe.

BP has been drafting plans for the top kill for weeks but had to delay it several times as crews scrambled to assemble the equipment at the site 80km off the coast.

A flotilla of rigs, barges and other heavy machinery stood ready there on Tuesday with a stockpile of some 50,000 barrels of the heavy mud, a manufactured substance that resembles clay.

in depth



Tony Hayward, BP's chief executive, said chances of the top kill succeeding were 60 to 70 per cent, while Kent Wells, a BP senior vice-president, said the procedure could be delayed or scuttled if Tuesday's pressure readings were poor.

Wells said it could take anywhere from a few hours to two days to determine whether the top kill was working.

If it succeeds, BP plans to inject a stream of cement to permanently seal up the well and may also install a new blowout preventer.

BP has had limited success with a mile-long tube it installed more than a week ago to siphon up some of the oil, capturing more than 1.9 million litres but also allowing untold amounts to escape into the sea.

Once the results of Tuesday's diagnostic tests are in, BP said, it will consult with government officials, including scientists with the Minerals Management Service (MMS), before deciding whether to press on with the top kill.

Investigation ordered

But the MMS has been accused of having too cosy a relationship with the very oil companies it is supposed to have oversight of.

Ken Salazar, the US interior secretary, on Tuesday ordered an investigation into whether the rig involved in the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was properly monitored by the MMS.

The investigation follows a report citing workers from the MMS – which is under the interior department - accepting gifts and possibly allowing oil workers to fill out their own inspection reports.


An area slightly smaller than the size of Greece is now closed to fishing

The report found it was commonplace before 2007 for MMS employees at a Lake Charles, Louisiana office to receive gifts including sporting event tickets and hunting trips from energy companies.

"This deeply disturbing report is further evidence of the cosy relationship between some elements of MMS and the oil and gas industry," Salazar said in a statement.


http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/05/2010525233017453314.html

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