(Adds timing and details of static kill operations in paragraphs 1-3, 5-7.)
Washington, 30 July (Argus) — BP's “static kill” operation aimed at using mud to plug its Macondo well could start a day later than scheduled because of additional work that needs to be done on one of the two relief wells thousands of feet below the floor of the US Gulf of Mexico, the company and the US government said today.
The static kill will begin 3 August or possibly late on 2 August, followed by BP intercepting the bottom of Macondo with a relief well around 11-12 August, BP senior vice-president of exploration and production Kent Wells said today during a briefing for reporters.
BP must clear out debris in the relief well, after sediment from its walls collapsed when the company evacuated the site because of tropical storm Bonnie, Wells said. “It's not uncommon when we go back in the hole,” he said.
Tomorrow BP plans to begin installing the final section of casing at the end of the relief well, a task that must be done to ensure its integrity before the company begins the static kill. BP said yesterday that the casing would start being installed yesterday evening.
During the static kill, BP will pump mud into the top of the crippled Macondo well to overcome the pressure of oil rising to the surface. The well has stopped leaking since BP activated a sealing cap on 15 July, and the rising pressure inside the well bore is what will allow the company to attempt to kill the well from the top, a process that failed in May. BP will pump mud into the well slowly at a rate of between 1-3 bl/minute, and the well's casing has a volume of around 2,000 bl, he said.
Later, the pumping of material from the relief well into the bottom of the original Macondo well could take days to weeks, depending on whether the company has to fill the outer annulus section of the well, the internal casing or both, according to Wells. The operations to plug the well could take until the end of August, he said, adding BP has not yet determined whether it will pump mud into the annulus or the casing during static kill.
The company intends to push all the oil back into the reservoir, Wells said.
Pressure inside the well continued to build today and has reached 6,961psi, Wells said, indicating the well has maintained its integrity.
Responders have found it increasingly difficult to find patches of oil on the surface of the water, fishing areas are re-opening and officials have been in discussions on how to move from response to recovery.
US national incident commander Thad Allen said during his daily briefing today that, “We should not be writing any obituary for this event,” which began after the Deepwater Horizon rig that was drilling the Macondo well exploded on 20 April and sank two days later.
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