The Well is Dead, but BP (and Oil) Remains
The notorious Gulf oil well is finally dead. On Sunday, Thad Allen announced that the BP oil well, having caused the worst spill in history, was stopped for good on Sunday with a permanent cement plug.
Once the application of the cement plug was completed, a successful pressure test was also administered and passed.
Although oil remains in the water and continues to wash ashore, residents of the region can rest easier knowing that well is no longer active.
So far, the oil spill has cost BP $9.5 billion in clean up. That number is separate from the… Continue reading
Recovering the Blowout Preventer
So far, we have only heard reports that the BP well cap was removed successfully, the first of many steps to finally plugging the well for good.
The well had been plugged with cement and mud prior to the cap’s removal, a cap that originally stopped the gushing well that spilled over 4 million barrels of oil. According to reports, the cap has been removed successfully and without leakage of oil.
Clean-up crews are standing by in case of any problems, but nothing has been reported yet. This step of removing the well cap is just one in a… Continue reading
BP Tar Balls in Texas
Tar Balls landed on a Texas beach Monday, confirming that the BP Oil Spill has officially affected all of the U.S. Gulf states.
Officials are wondering whether the tar balls arrived on the beach naturally or were carried along with boats moving from the area. Either way, the BP Oil Spill has now reached every Gulf state in the U.S.
If the publicly built-up relief wells do not do their part in stopping the oil gushing from the riser of the Deepwater Horizon rig, this spill could continue for up to 2 years.
We should remember that the natural well… Continue reading