AFP reported that British Petroleum has stopped the oil flowing into the Gulf of Mexico on July 15th 2010 for the first time in three months as it began key tests hoping to stem the spill for good.
Shortly after BP engineers shut down the last of three valves on a giant new cap placed on the blown out well, Mr Kent Wells SVP pf BP announced no oil was leaking into the seas. He said that "I'm very excited to see no oil flowing into the Gulf of Mexico."
But he cautioned that it was only the start of a painstaking testing process set to last 48 hours to analyze the condition of the underground well bore.
The announcement was the first sign of real hope for desperate coastal residents who have had their livelihoods ravaged by the worst environmental disaster in the nation's history, now in its 13th week.
Teeming fishing grounds have been closed and tourists have been scared away, two vital economic lifelines for the southern region still struggling to recover from the 2005 Hurricane Katrina.
Endangered wildlife has also been increasingly threatened by huge ribbons of oil fouling the shores of five states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. The costly, massive clean up is likely to last years.
Mr Doug Suttles COO of BP also warned that it was not yet time to celebrate, saying more time was needed as the tests are completed. He said that "I think it's an encouraging sign. In a couple of more days it may even be more encouraging, but no celebrations. If you go talk to these people that live here, celebration is the wrong word."
The tests are intended to determine whether the well bore, which stretches 2.5 miles below the seabed, was damaged during an April 20th 2010 explosion on the BP leased Deepwater Horizon rig, which sank two days later.
BP is hoping to choke off the oil flow from the well, estimated at between 35,000 to 60,000 barrels a day. But doing so from the top could force oil out in new leaks if the well bore was damaged.
During the test, engineers will take multiple readings from the 30 foot capping stack placed on top of the wellhead on Monday to monitor the pressure inside. High pressure readings would allow the three valves to remain shut and the well would effectively be sealed, but low readings could mean there is a hole somewhere in the casing of the well where oil is escaping.
Mr Thad Allen official in charge of the US response said that "Over the next several hours we will continue to collect data and work with the federal science team to analyze this information and perform additional seismic mapping runs in the hopes of gaining a better understanding on the condition of the well bore and options for temporary shut in of the well during a hurricane."
Mr Allen said that after 48 hours, the engineers will open up the system again and begin capturing the oil through two surface vessels to allow a new seismic survey to be carried out. He added that "Then, it remains likely that we will return to the containment process using this new stacking cap connected to the risers to attempt to collect up to 80,000 barrels of oil per day until the relief well is completed."
(Sourced from AFP)
