BP Starts "Top Kill" On Leaking Well, Obama Crosses Fingers
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BP PLC (NYSE: BP) began its risky "top kill" plan on Wednesday to stop the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that has been coming from a deepwater well for more than a month.
The U.S. Coast Guard approved the plan, which will use heaving drilling fluids to plug the well that is spewing more than 5,000 barrels of oil into the ocean each day.
The top-kill procedure could take up to two days to be completely implemented, and it is unclear to BP and federal authorities as how long it will take to know the affect of the plan.
The plan is being closely watched by U.S. federal authorities and the rest of the oil industry, which faces a slew of new regulations regarding off-shore drilling in the future following the spill that is being called one of the worst ever seen in the U.S.
If the efforts of the top-kill procedure fail, BP said that it will take steps to place a containment system over the spill to attempt to capture the oil. For this plan to work the damaged pipe would have to be removed. The company would then have to place a cap on the top of the pipe and siphon out the oil to a surface vessel.
The pipe, known as a riser, was damaged when an explosion sank the Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG), causing the subsequent oil spill. BP said that the cap is on site and could be placed into action as soon as the end of the month.
BP is under extreme pressure from President Barack Obama, who cautioned that the top-kill plan may not be successful.
"We will not rest until this well is shut, the environment is repaired and the cleanup is complete," President Obama said recently.
The oil spill is threatening the rich fisheries and wildlife of the Gulf of Mexico, as well as the economic impact has devastating potential for those on the Louisiana coast who rely on the Ocean for livelihood.
The U.S. Coast Guard approved the plan, which will use heaving drilling fluids to plug the well that is spewing more than 5,000 barrels of oil into the ocean each day.
The top-kill procedure could take up to two days to be completely implemented, and it is unclear to BP and federal authorities as how long it will take to know the affect of the plan.
The plan is being closely watched by U.S. federal authorities and the rest of the oil industry, which faces a slew of new regulations regarding off-shore drilling in the future following the spill that is being called one of the worst ever seen in the U.S.
If the efforts of the top-kill procedure fail, BP said that it will take steps to place a containment system over the spill to attempt to capture the oil. For this plan to work the damaged pipe would have to be removed. The company would then have to place a cap on the top of the pipe and siphon out the oil to a surface vessel.
The pipe, known as a riser, was damaged when an explosion sank the Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG), causing the subsequent oil spill. BP said that the cap is on site and could be placed into action as soon as the end of the month.
BP is under extreme pressure from President Barack Obama, who cautioned that the top-kill plan may not be successful.
"We will not rest until this well is shut, the environment is repaired and the cleanup is complete," President Obama said recently.
The oil spill is threatening the rich fisheries and wildlife of the Gulf of Mexico, as well as the economic impact has devastating potential for those on the Louisiana coast who rely on the Ocean for livelihood.
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