[justa-hairyape]

Thought I read that they are working with 1,000 feet of loose silt, mud, sand and clay. Then you get to the thousands of feet of hard salts (basalt) and eventually limestone. If you plug the end of the well head right now, all the oil and methane gas will leak out at the main break point. That break point is uncontrolled. High pressure gas could get up into the 1,000 feet of loose sediment. That sediment could eventually bulge and begin leaking oil and methane. The situation right now is fairly controlled and will remain that way until and if the main well head opens up more due to small particulates in the oil. BP has a lot more oil processing capability on the way. Should be able to collect well over 50,000 bpd in total.

[Dem Guard]

What you describe makes one wonder how they every found it stable enough to drill in the first place. This is a stinking pipe in the ground, not a volcano. It could be
buried given enough rock. Particularly in nearly two months time. imho

[Smokin' Joe]

hard salts (basalt)

No. Salt is sodium chloride (mineral name Halite), Basalt is a mafic igneous rock, volcanic in origin. Two very different things, especially considering one is soluable in water.