BP Well Plug Needs More Work

- BP outlines the steps it needs to seal off its troublesome Gulf well forever

New York, USA (BGN) – The official overseeing the spill response is retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, and BP (NYSE:BP) senior vice president of exploration and production Kent Wells.

As BP goes into the final phases of killing its Macondo oil well, it will have to take the following steps, which must all meet with Admiral Allen’s approval before proceeding.

BP Well Plug Needs More Work

First, pressure testing must be conducted on the well to confirm whether the well is sealed well enough that oil will not flow if seabed equipment at the top is removed. This test is expected to take 48 hours to complete.

Second, the well’s blowout preventer (BOP) will have to be replaced. This process will involve retrieving a 3,500-foot drillpipe that scientists think is lodged in the BOP. This will require a ship on the ocean’s surface to lift the pipe out, but its removal will streamline the replacing of the BOP. The failed BOP is key evidence in several investigations into the cause of the April 20 blowout that killed 11 people.

Third, BP (NYSE:BP) will have to drill relief wells about 3.5 feet from the side of the Macondo well. This will have to be done before the BOP is replaced, to ensure the Macondo well stays stable during the operation.

Last, mud and cement will be pumped through the relief well into the Macondo well to fill the Macondo well and seal it permanently. After all this is finished, BP will abandon the well. BP advises that final plugging has been pushed back as far as September.