Next Step to Plugging Gulf Well Is Still in Limbo.

[sinkingfeeling]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/08/18/gulf.oil.disaster/index.html?hpt=T2

(CNN) -- Two weeks after BP plugged its damaged oil well in the Gulf of Mexico with cement and mud from above, the next step in the process to permanently shut down the apparatus is in limbo as scientists gauge the risks posed by pressure inside the well.

The procedure the first week of August was called a "static kill." The timeline for the next step -- the "bottom kill" -- is unknown, as scientists try to determine which of two methods would work best to mitigate the pressure issues, Allen said.

Crews could remove the capping stack that sealed the oil in the well on July 15, then replace the well's blowout preventer with a new one stored on the nearby Development Driller II in the Gulf.

The other option would require BP to devise a pressure-relief device for the current capping stack.
Once crews get their marching orders, it will take them about four days to prepare, drill the final 50 feet of a relief well and intercept the main well. Then, the "bottom kill" process of plugging the well from below will begin. Allen said Wednesday cementing will require another several days.

[mike r]

1. Maybe they shouldn't have wasted time with the 'static' kill

The bottom kill does have an impressive cure rate.

[thereismore]

2. I think sealing the top with cement was an assinine idea. nt