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BP to Install Tighter 'Cap' on Leaking Oil Well

   VOA News 10 July 2010
   In  this  9  Jul  2010  satellite image released by NASA, oil from the
   Deepwater Horizon spill is seen on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico

Photo: AP

   In  this  9  Jul  2010  satellite image released by NASA, oil from the
   Deepwater Horizon spill is seen on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico

   Oil  giant  BP  is  trying a risky undersea procedure that could allow
   ships  to collect all the oil pouring into the Gulf of Mexico from the
   company's leaking well.
   Workers   began  using  underwater  robots  Saturday  to  replace  the
   "containment  cap"  that covers the mouth of the oil well, about 1,500
   meters below the surface.
   The crews are replacing the loose-fitting attachment funneling leaking
   oil to the surface with a tighter cap attached firmly to the wellhead.
   If  the effort is successful, the top U.S. official overseeing work on
   the  oil  spill  says  the  leak can at last be declared "contained."Â
   Retired  Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen says containment would be only
   a temporary solution, however, until the well is permanently plugged.
   The   work   to   replace   the   containment   cap  is  delicate  and
   time-consuming,  and  BP said it could take up to seven days.  During
   that time oil will gush out of the well at full volume, 60,000 barrels
   or more a day. Â
   The new "cap" will have a pipeline allowing oil to flow up to a fourth
   large  ship on the surface.  If it works, the new system will be able
   to  capture  up  to 80,000 barrels of oil a day, more than three times
   the  amount  (25,000 barrels) currently being collected, and more than
   the  amount (60,000 barrels a day) the government estimates is flowing
   into the Gulf.
   The  environmental  disaster  in  the  Gulf  began  April  20, when an
   explosion  on an oil rig BP was operating killed 11 workers and caused
   the  leak.  The  spill,  by  far  the largest ever in U.S. waters, has
   fouled  huge  expanses  of the U.S. Gulf coast, wreaked havoc on birds
   and  sea  creatures,  and  caused  vast damage to fishing, tourism and
   other industries.

   Admiral Allen said Friday the spill cannot be considered under control
   until  the  well  is  plugged permanently.  BP is drilling two shafts
   intended  to  intercept the leaking well far below the sea floor, at a
   point  where  engineers  say  cement  can  be pumped into the original
   well.  Final stages of that effort are still weeks away.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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