Houston, 29 July (Argus) — BP will begin casing its primary relief well at its Macondo site in the US Gulf of Mexico later this evening and proceed toward a static kill, which will involve pumping mud and other material into the top of the capped original well, US government officials said today.

The static kill procedure it set to begin 2 August but could start a day sooner if the casing and cementing of the relief well runs ahead of schedule, national incident commander and former US Coast Guard admiral Thad Allen said today.

The original well has been closed with a sealing cap since 15 July. The buildup of pressure inside the well reached 6,951psi today and there have been no indications that the well does not have integrity, Allen said.

In the next week, Allen said a team of scientists analyzing data will have a better estimate on how much oil was spilled since the fatal 20 April explosion and subsequent sinking of the Deepwater Horizon rig off the Louisiana coast.

Allen also met with Louisiana parish presidents and governor Bobby Jindal today to discuss the next procedures after the well is closed, asses the best criteria on how  proceed in the future and refine hurricane preparations.

Send comments to feedback@argusmedia.com
ce/mgb 2.0

If you would like to review other ArgusMedia.com content options, request more information about Argus' energy news, data and analysis services.

Copyright © 2010 Argus Media Ltd - www.ArgusMedia.com - All rights reserved.