July 12th, 2010
01:29 PM ET

Leaking well's new cap appears to be in place

Retired Adm. Thad Allen says scientists will gauge the well's pressure after the cap is in place.

[Updated at 8:11 p.m.] BP appears to have placed a new containment cap on the leaking oil well in the Gulf of Mexico.

BP hopes the new cap will contain the gushing oil, but tests are still needed to determine its effectiveness.

[Posted at 1:29 p.m.] Crews working on the leaking oil well in the Gulf of Mexico will "be in a position later on today to put a containment cap over the well," retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the man in charge of the federal response team, told CNN's American Morning Monday.

He said once the cap is placed on the well, scientists will be able to gauge the pressure inside the well, then determine whether the cap is holding in the oil or if crews will need to continue siphoning oil. While robots replace the old cap, crude is leaking out. Scientists estimate that 35,000 to 60,000 barrels of oil are spewing daily from BP's breached well.

Some of the gushing oil should be collected soon, BP's Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles said. He added that the oil-gathering ship, the Helix Producer, should begin collection of oil from the ruptured well Monday and should "ramp up to full capacity" in several days, after two setbacks Sunday delayed its implementation.

Suttles blamed the delays on problems with a hydraulic system used to operate the valve and a leak in the methanol system. But he said the Helix Producer had been set back less than a day and both issues had been resolved.

FULL STORY

 Post by:
Filed under: BP • Gulf Coast Oil Spill
soundoff (3 Responses)
  1. BreakingNewsBlog.us

    .
    .
    .
    I've proposed to change the failed containment cap with a bigger version over FIVE WEEKS AGO here:
    .
    ghostnasa.com/posts2/070oilspillsolution.html
    .
    and several times on the Deepwater Horizon Facebook page and dozens blogs!
    .
    WHY have they lost FIVE WEEKS to make a new cap???
    .
    and, most important, WHY hasn't BP used its Genesis GXP 2500 giant idraulic shears to stop the oil spill in the EARLY DAYS of May?????????????????????????????????
    .
    .
    .

    July 12, 2010 at 1:34 pm | Report abuse |
  2. qwerasdf

    @BreakingNews

    Zero science (CHECK)
    Zero math (CHECK)
    Zero calculations (CHECK)
    Zero facts (CHECK)
    Zero research (CHECK)
    5 year old imagination with a crayon (CHECK)
    No education (CHECK)
    Poor English (CHECK)
    Can't spell Oxygen (CHECK)
    Crappy idea that BP, US Gov, any government, any company won't take (CHECK)
    Ugly website (CHECK)
    Spam (CHECK)
    Someone who doesn't know how to skip lines and puts idiotic periods (CHECK)

    you are a complete joke. Get an education first.

    And we all know you are a joke::
    Marano, Gaetano
    Via Ambrogio Arabia 11-D
    Cosenza, CS 87100
    Italy
    +39.3296080801

    For the record I'm not defending BP. I just think BreakingNews is an idiot. So does everyone else.

    July 12, 2010 at 6:26 pm | Report abuse |
    • BreakingNewsBlog.us

      .
      .
      @qwerasdf

      your web-stalking might have one (or more than one) of four possible origins:
      .
      1. you are one of the people responsible of the bad maintenance of the oil rig, then, of the accident and the 11 deaths
      .
      2. you are a BP's manager or a BP's official or a BP's engineer or a BP's PR-man (maybe, one of a larger PR "crew") that defends the indifendible
      .
      3. you are a BP's shareholder that's very concerned about the value of his BP shares today
      .
      4. you are none of them, but, simply, a guy that hasn't never had a (good or bad) idea, then, you hate those who have MANY (good or bad) ideas
      .
      however, if this posting is your "job", have fun doing your useless work... 🙂
      .
      .

      July 12, 2010 at 6:54 pm | Report abuse |
« Back to main