BP Gulf oil well kill is on hold amid wedged cement block

The BP Gulf oil well kill process due to be completed around now is on hold as wedged cement between two layers of casing may have stopped sealing the well, trapping leaked crude oil inside the void.

BP and US government representatives had hoped to complete a “bottom kill” procedure and officially pronounce the well dead by the middle of this month.

BP is now studying two alternative ways to tackle the potential problems posed by the debris and trapped crude oil.

The first is a “pressure relief method” that would work with the sealing cap currently atop the well; the alternative would involve bringing in a new blow-out preventer device to withstand any pressure caused by the blockage.

BP engineers and US government scientists are concerned that cement poured into the well from the top earlier this month has squeezed back up into a space between the well pipe and the surrounding rock, trapping about 1,000 barrels of oil.

Meanwhile, nearly 80 percent of the crude oil released into the Gulf of Mexico remains in the area’s ecosystem, researchers at the University of Georgia concluded yesterday in a report that contradicted the rosier estimates of the US government.

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BP Gulf oil well kill is on hold amid wedged cement block