(Adds BP's timeline for well operations in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3; adds flow rate assumption in paragraph 5.)

Houston, 27 July (Argus) — BP will begin drilling into the bottom of its Macondo well in the US Gulf of Mexico two weeks from today, and the process of plugging it with the relief well operation could take days or weeks, the company said.

Before that, BP will attempt to plug the well with mud from the top during a “static kill” operation set to begin late 1 August or early 2 August, BP senior vice president Kent Wells said today during a briefing for reporters.

BP will spend the coming days removing a plug installed in the first relief well last week because of tropical storm Bonnie, Wells said. The company will then install a final leg of casing at the end of the relief well, he said. Drilling of the second relief well has stopped as the first relief well enters its final stages.

The original well has been closed with a sealing cap since 15 July. The buildup of pressure inside the well reached 6,923psi today and continued to build at less than half a psi per hour, Wells said. Monitoring of the well site has given officials confidence that the original well has maintained its integrity, he said.

Earlier this month, BP assumed the flow rate of the well to be 53,000 b/d, according to company documents released today by US representative Edward Markey (D-Massachusetts). Wells said he was not familiar with the documents nor was he aware of BP publishing a flow rate. US government estimates have put the flow rate at 35,000-60,000 b/d.

In a separate incident today, a tug vessel pushing a dredge barge collided with a wellhead in Louisiana's Barataria waterway, the US Coast Guard said. There was a light sheen around the well head as it leaked oil and gas, US national incident commander Thad Allen said today. So far that incident has had no impact on the Macondo response operations, according to a spokesperson for the unified command.

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