WSJ: BP to begin testing on newly installed oil well cap

BP said Monday that it has successfully installed the new oil well cap, called the “Top Hat 10,” to try to stem the flow of oil that has been gushing out of a broken well in the Gulf of Mexico since April 20. The oil giant will begin integrity tests Tuesday to determine if any oil is flowing through the well casing.

If all goes according to plan, pipes connected to the new cap will then transfer the leaking oil onto nearby containment vessels. BP hopes that their latest containment strategy will recover all of the oil that is leaking from the well until work on relief wells is completed in August.

The sealing cap system also hasn’t been used before at the depths or conditions of the Deepwater Horizon, BP said, adding that the system’s “ability to contain the oil and gas cannot be assured.”

Since Transocean Ltd.’s Deepwater Horizon exploded and sank, at least 88 million gallons of oil have spilled into the Gulf, according to federal estimates.

READ THIS STORY AT WSJ.COM

 

BP said Monday that it has successfully installed the new oil well cap, called the “Top Hat 10,” to try to stem the flow of oil that has been gushing out of a broken well in the Gulf of Mexico since April 20. The oil giant will begin integrity tests Tuesday to determine if any oil is flowing through the well casing.

If all goes according to plan, pipes connected to the new cap will then transfer the leaking oil onto nearby containment vessels. BP hopes that their latest containment strategy will recover all of the oil that is leaking from the well until work on relief wells is completed in August.

The sealing cap system also hasn’t been used before at the depths or conditions of the Deepwater Horizon, BP said, adding that the system’s “ability to contain the oil and gas cannot be assured.”

Since Transocean Ltd.’s Deepwater Horizon exploded and sank, at least 88 million gallons of oil have spilled into the Gulf, according to federal estimates.

READ THIS STORY AT WSJ.COM

Niamh Marnell

Niamh Marnell

Niamh Marnell earned a master's degree in social sciences from the University of Chicago where she examined organizations and power from the perspective of political science and sociology. You can follow her at http://twitter.com/NiamhMarnell.

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