Freepers are pretty good at that.
BP said it began pressure tests at its undersea oil gusher in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday after it placed a new containment cap and seal on the wellhead.
If the well can sustain up to 9,000 pounds per square inch of pressure for the first six hours of the 48-hour test, the cap could shut off all flow until a relief well kills the leak by mid-August. But if pressures linger for the first six hours at 6,000 psi or less, then it will not be sustainable. High pressures would indicate the wellbore is intact after the April 20 blowout, but low pressures would be a sign oil and gas are leaking out the sides.
Either way, BP will have a four-vessel oil-capture system in place by mid-July that can handle up to 80,000 barrels a day, he said. If the cap can shut off all flow, the vessels will be in place as a backup according to retired US Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen.
Residents in Houma, Lousiana, are following developments closely. BP's leaking wellhead is a mile (1.6 km) underwater. The new 160,000-pound (73-tonne) capping stack was custom-designed and built for the leaking well. If tests progress as hoped, BP said no oil would flow from the well for the first time since a rig being drilled for BP by Transocean Ltd sank days after an explosion on April 20 that killed 11 workers.