“We’re watching every piece of data,” said BP Vice President Kent Wells in a conference call with reporters Saturday. “We feel more comfortable that we have integrity.”
No oil has visibly leaked out of the Macondo well since the cap was sealed Thursday and the pressure in the well is high enough to indicate that the well likely isn’t leaking, Wells said.
BP: Tallying the damage
“We’re watching each piece of information,” explained BP Vice President Kent Wells in the conference call with reporters Saturday. “We really feel extra comfortable that we have integrity.”
No oil has visibly leaked out from the Macondo effectively because the cap was sealed Thursday and also the stress from the effectively is large sufficient to show the fact that perfectly most likely isn’t leaking, Wells proclaimed. BP: Tallying the harm
Jeff Ball looks at the environmental fallout in the 86-day oil spill with the Gulf of Mexico.
Preliminary seismic surveys show how the seafloor all-around the good hasn’t ruptured, even though extra surveys, by BP and government scientists, are underway to make sure that no oil or gas is leaking through the nicely or even the seafloor.
BP /quotes/comstock/13*!bp/quotes/nls/bp (BP 37.10, -1.82, -4.68%) proclaimed Friday that preliminary test outcomes show the fact that new cap is keeping the oil underground inside a reservoir that was possibly depleted extra than initially thought.
The positive information shows the fact that well’s interior was most likely undamaged soon after the April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig in which 11 platform workers died. The rig sank on April 22. Even though exact figures aren’t confirmed, the spill has turn out to be the largest oil spill in U.S. history, according to estimates from the flow rate, which would total hundreds of millions of gallons.
BP executives, pressured by President Obama, have agreed to produce a $20 billion spill response fund which will support pay for cleanup and claims. The company’s stock and marketplace capitalization have plunged despite the fact that it has spent much more than $3 billion in attempts to shut off the oil flow and limit its spread.
Measurements within the past week showed no oil coming out from the perfectly, Wells stated. When oil and gas have been flowing via the properly, they heated up the effectively bore, but right after the hydrocarbons have been sealed under the cap, the temperature on the nicely bore dropped to exactly the same degree as the seawater all-around it, Wells says.
Acoustic sensing surveys and sonar scanning also have turned up no evidence that oil is flowing from your good or even the seafloor, Wells says. Still, he proclaimed much more information are necessary.
The stress with the effectively on Saturday reportedly rose to 6,745 pounds per square inch from 6,700 psi on Friday, Wells says. To be certain without having a doubt the effectively isn’t leaking would need a reading of 8,000 to 9,000 pounds per square inch.
The present degree is substantial sufficient to show that an oil leak is unlikely, but low good enough to make scientists wonder regardless of whether there might be a hidden leak somewhere or regardless of whether the reservoir beneath the seafloor has merely been depleted as oil has gushed out over the past 3 months.
Whilst BP scientists believe the stress reading is known as a result of a lower reservoir amount, they’re pressing on with measurements to rule out any other elements, Wells says.
Rebecca L. McClay is known as a MarketWatch reporter based in San Francisco.
