Pressure worries stall relief well for damaged Gulf of Mexico oil well

[Poboy]

Published: Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Rebecca Mowbray, The Times-Picayune

BP engineers and the U.S. government's science team met Monday afternoon to figure out the best way to relieve pressure in the outer shell of the Macondo well before BP is allowed to complete the relief well, the ultimate step in permanently sealing the exploded oil well in the Gulf of Mexico.

Although BP pumped cement into the well through a procedure called a "static kill" this month, the government wants the company to proceed with filling the well with cement through a relief well to make sure the broken well really is dead.

But now officials are concerned that pumping cement through the relief well could put too much pressure on the sealed outer layer of the well, called the annulus, and National Incident Commander Thad Allen asked BP to figure out how to relieve the pressure before he would let the company complete the relief well.
On Monday afternoon, advisers to BP and the federal government met to consider two options for handling the pressure, and they will advise Energy Secretary Steve Chu and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Allen said.

http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/08/pressure_worries_stall_relief.html

[tnlefty]

1. K&R

I saw this earlier on the florida oil spill site, www.floridaoilspilllaw.com. It's amazing the information that can be passed around when there isn't a concerted effort to shut down the free flow of information. :hi:

[Poboy]

2. Thank you! -nt