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Test on oil well back on track

Photo: AP

Getting back its wings:An oiled pelican being cleaned at the Oiled Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Gulfport, Mississippi on Monday.

Washington: BP has announced that a critical test on the ruptured oil well in the Gulf of Mexico will proceed as planned after a hydraulic leak that had delayed the tests was fixed on Thursday.

Tests of the integrity of the well are said to be vital to establishing a total mop-up mechanism until the permanent solution — relief wells — are put in place. These tests were initially scheduled for July 13 following the installation of the latest cap — called a “capping stack” — on the ruptured well of BP's Deepwater Horizon rig.

They were postponed because of the leak and also for further checks on the testing procedure.

National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen said in a briefing on July 14 that the test was to start after a day's delay during which time the procedure had been reviewed by a team of scientists from BP, other companies and the government.

“We sat long and hard about delaying this test,” he said, adding that it was in the interest of the American people, the safety of the environment and of the project to take a 24-hour break “to make sure we were getting this absolutely right”.

Reports quoted senior vice-president of BP Kent Wells as saying that overnight, engineers using remotely operated submersibles replaced equipment on the tight-sealing cap at the top of well, 5,000 feet under water. Mr. Wells said with the repair made, “we're looking to start this test as soon as we possibly can”.

Meanwhile, commenting on the temporarily elevated rate of flow of oil into the Gulf, Admiral Allen said: “As you know our current flow rate projections are 35,000 to 60,000 barrels a day. We had intended by about this time to have 53,000 barrel a day capacity by bringing the Helix Producer online.”

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