BP Ready To Cap Well Or Funnel It To Surface Storage

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BP is ready for a well integrity test as a precursor to cap the well or funnel it to the surface for collection. Discussions are being held between BP representatives and government officials, who are worried that the pressure under the cap, when could rupture other sites on the sea floor. Specifically, there is concern that closing the cap could create pressure in the well's formation, resulting in oil being released close to the surface of the sea floor and eventually flowing into the Gulf of Mexico. If BP determines that using the cap to shut in the well is too risky, they would use the cap to produce oil from the well.

BP collection at the the Helix Producer was approximately 9,200 barrels of oil on Tuesday. The Q4000 flared off about 7,800 barrels of day. For the past several weeks, a more loosely fitting cap and the Q4000 system have managed to keep up to about 25,000 barrels of oil a day out of the Gulf. The new sealing cap-system, plus additional measures, will allow the recovery of 60,000 barrels to 80,000 barrels by the end of the month. (WSJ, 7/14/2010)