Crucial test on ruptured BP well in limbo

MarketWatch ^ | July 14, 2010, 4:21 p.m. EDT | Steve Gelsi, MarketWatch

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Investors pressured shares of BP PLC on Wednesday, with the company stuck in a holding pattern on a crucial test of a new containment system over its leaking oil well in the Gulf of Mexico.

An unnamed Obama administration official told the Associated Press that the government was acting with an "abundance of caution" on the test.

Officials had expressed some optimism that a tighter well cap installed over the weekend could have stopped the flow of oil from the well by now, but plans to deploy it remain in limbo, with more updates expected in the coming hours.

On Wall Street, investors fretted, sending BP shares down nearly 2% to close at $36.18.

The next update on the well from the government was expected at 4 p.m. Central time, with National Incident Commander Thad Allen scheduled to speak.

Is BP near a turning point?

With BP's testing and installation of a tighter-fitting cap aimed at halting the flow of oil, the U.S. predicted the spill would be contained this month.

Kent Wells, senior vice president of BP

said that experts are looking at technical analysis and procedures surrounding the pressure test, which will determine if the cap and tubing in the well will hold up to the enormous pressure from the flow of spewing oil.

Other leak-related activities also have been suspended, as BP ponders whether to deploy its new cap along with an attached valve system that can shut off the gusher.

BP said it delayed drilling of its first relief well as a precaution, since it's close enough to possibly weaken the core of the Macondo well. "We'll commence drilling and setting [of the relief well] when [the] test is over," ....

[Circle_Hook]

actually came up hot! Yea

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Well...I am going the other way...

I liked what Allen had to say....and I think the Doomsday Media crowd will need more schemes in a few days to keep the agiprop going....watch for it....

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

No relief well drilling

Allen countered that when asked...says the second effort is on hold but the first and closest is not....they just are not moving very fast because they are being very careful.

[ArmstedFragg]

Thanks! The C-Span link was never activated, but they had some undocumented link that had it.

[Eva]

I have heard that the relief well is within inches of completion.

It appears that Obama is stalling the fix until Harry Reid gets a chance to ram through his cap and trade bill. BP didn’t want it known that the relief well was so close to completion because they didn’t want to raise expectations before they knew it would be successful. When they say it could be completed before the end of the month, they mean maybe next week. Obama does not want that.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Not sure...Allen did say they were within 4 and half feet...which is closer I think.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Allen did say that the pressure test would provide useful information to the relief well effort to really close the well off at the bottom.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

The way Allen describes it,...the White House has not been a player in this decision...

I find him to be a straight shooter....I think we all need to ease up on the conspiracy theories...at least until something unexpected happens....

But this seems to be a genuine well thought out effort and although I am not any kind of expert ...but from what I have read...granted mostly at the Oil Drum...I detect no BS...

He talked about a number of seismic scans done so they can detect if there is any movement in the hydrocarbons from one formation to another...(ergo...the methane bubble exploding out of the well hole and blowing up the Gulf...

That is a favorite in the agiprop going around...

See this for the latest :

Why BP is readying a 'super weapon' to avert escalating Gulf nightmare

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Allen says the Test will commence .

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

That is your latest Agiprop effort....check out the helium website....

You can write your own horror story and get paid for it....

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

See link at #28.

[SE Mom]

I wasn’t able to listen to the press conf but am reassured by your take.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

It was worth watching....no sure where you can find it....

[smokingfrog]

That makes no sense.

This either...

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

This Obama Administration really helps the generation of conspiracy theories.....

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

That is almost worth starting a caption thread...

[SE Mom]

You’re right about that- he feeds every doubt or suspicion that normally we would dismiss. He makes the impossible seem likely.

[houeto]

This either...

Sure it does. Don't you remember the song..."Rub It In, Rub It In?"

[Marine_Uncle]

And he also made clear in that short conference, that they just wanted to kick things around for a bit before making the final decision to continue the slow process of shutting off one valve at a time, making the required psi measurements that each phase could last literally six or more hours.
As for the relieve well operation being stopped. It like so much one sees cropping up on the Internet, not true in the sense they are going to stop drilling.
Again readers. Let us remember often during the past few weeks the drilling process was suspended. They withdraw the drill head. They insert new sections of casing. They lower a magnometer into the well hole to take measurements as to the distance they are from the existing well bore casing, etc., then re-insert the drill head and go a bit further. The admiral and others have been perfectly clear for the past month this is the process they follow.
And the admiral made it clear, that as they get closer to the intercept coordinate, each few dozen feet would see drilling stoppage and more measurements taken.
This is a lengthly process. That is why they suggested earlier on, it could be mid August before they attempted a cut into the existing well bore casing.
Lastly. The admiral made it clear to one phone call question that the strata looked good based on their seismologic testing results. He said they do not anticipate any problem with going ahead with the four test phases with a final shut off at the top.

[smokingfrog]

Michelle Obama's 'Oil Spill Chic'