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U.S. allows Gulf well to remain closed despite seep

20 July 2010 04:28 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. The U.S. government allowed BP Monday to keep its Gulf well closed for another day while testing continues despite new concerns such as a possible seep near the site, APA reports quoting â€œThe USA Todayâ€.
National Incident Commander Thad Allen, who’s in charge of the U.S. oil spill response, ordered BP to increase monitoring late Sunday after a seep and "undetermined anomalies" were found at the well head. He said government scientists and BP have since discussed the issues, including the detection of methane around the well.
"I authorized BP to continue the integrity test for another 24 hours and I restated our firm position that this test will only continue if they continue to meet their obligations to rigorously monitor for any signs that this test could worsen the overall situation," Allen said in a statement Monday morning.
BP announced Monday that it’s closely monitoring its Gulf oil site in response to a letter Allen sent BP late Sunday that demanded such action.
"Extensive monitoring activities are being carried out around the well site," BP said in a morning statement. The energy giant said it’s reviewing the data with U.S. officials to determine whether the cap atop the well remains closed, shutting in the well, or is opened, allowing oil to spew again into the Gulf of Mexico.
The well’s new cap has remained closed since testing of the well’s pressure began Thursday, the first time since the well’s April 20 explosion that oil has not leaked into Gulf waters.
BP’s chief operating officer Doug Suttles told reporters Sunday that the new capping stack could remain shut until a relief well permanently plugs the well with mud and cement in August.
"The results continue to look encouraging," Suttles said." We just need to be careful about predicting how long it will go. If we did see a problem we may have to initiate flow."
BP has been testing the well’s pressure to see if it remains physically intact. Before it started, it said pressure above 8,000 psi (pounds per square inch) would indicate integrity but below 6,000 would suggest leakage from the casing onto the seafloor.
The well’s pressure level was up to 6,778 psi (pounds per square inch) inside the well’s new cap and is building at about 2 psi an hour, Suttles said. He attributed the pressure level to a depleting reservoir and said no problems had been found.
"No one wants to see any more oil flow into the Gulf. We are hopeful that we will be able to continue the integrity test until we get to kill" or plug the well, Suttles said. "Right now we don’t have a target to return the well to flow."
BP said Monday that it has spent nearly $4 billion so far to deal with the oil spill, including cleanup, containment and damage claims. It said it’s paid $207 million million to settle individual claims, 116,000 of which have been submitted. This money is separate from a $20 billion escrow fund it agreed to set up, at President Obama’s insistence.
Allen said Saturday in a statement that BP and government officials decided to extend the integrity testing on the Macondo Well, initially slated to end after 48 hours, for another 24 hours.