A New Cap May Accelerate Time-Line to Stop Oil Flow in Gulf

BRADENTON – A new cap that BP plans to install over the leaking oil well in the Gulf of Mexico could finally halt the flow of crude oil in mid-July, a BP executive said yesterday.
 
In a technical briefing for reporters, BP Senior Vice President Kent Wells said that a larger replacement cap could stop the oil leak, if all went as planned.

“A lot depends on the pressure response we see,” he said. Wells said the new cap could be on in two weeks.

If it works, it could cut several weeks from the previous estimate of when a relief well would finally have stopped the flow.

West indicated that the relief well is still moving along as planned and now within 20 feet of the original. BP will drill parallel wells to ensure the location of the original well and increase the chances for success.

With tropical storms brewing and hurricane season well underway, any shortening of the time-line is good news, especially as storms might delay current oil collection efforts this week. Oil from the spill has already prompted fishing and beach closings in the Panhandle.

Florida residents are nervously hoping for both an end to the flow, as well as success in containing the considerable oil already in the gulf, before it touches the western and southern shorelines of our state.