BP test for 'static kill' in Gulf could take place Tuesday

New Orleans, Louisiana (News Today) - A crucial test -- meant to determine whether an effort to seal the ruptured BP oil well in the Gulf of Mexico could proceed -- will likely take place Tuesday, according to the company.

The "injectivity" test was initially scheduled for Monday but was delayed because of a small leak, BP said.

Tuesday is also the day the company could also conduct the "static kill," one of two efforts planned to cap the leaking well once and for all.

"During final preparations to commence with the injectivity test, a small hydraulic leak was discovered in the capping stack hydraulic control system," BP said in a statement. The injectivity test will be rescheduled until the leak is repaired.

In the test, "base oil" will be pumped into the ruptured well bore to determine whether it will go back into the reservoir, said Kent Wells, BP's senior vice president. The test will start with pumping one barrel per minute, then two, then three. How much is pumped will depend on how the test goes, Wells said. He added the test is meant to help officials decide whether adjustments need to be made on "how and if" the static kill will proceed.

The static kill would involve pouring mud, possibly followed by cement, into the well from above. The goal is to push all the oil back into the reservoir, and seal the well.

Meanwhile, scientists charged with determining the flow from the leaking well said Monday that roughly 4.9 million barrels of oil have seeped from the well. Previously, the same group had put the total estimate of oil leaked from the well prior to it being capped on July 15 at between 3 million and 5.2 million barrels.

The moment the well was capped, scientists said some 53,000 barrels of oil per day were leaking from the well, while roughly 62,000 barrels of oil were likely seeping per day from the oil well at the start of the spill.

Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Energy and Environment Subcommittee, criticized BP in a statement Monday in light of the recent findings.

"Today we learned that BP's initial worst case scenario has been the reality since day one of this disaster," Markey said. "Had BP owned up to the size and magnitude of this oil spill from the very beginning, the government and families in the Gulf would have been better prepared to respond to this tragedy."

The Mexican government is planning to make BP and the United States pay for damages and for costs associated with the company's ruptured oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, the state news agency Notimex reported Monday.

Although the Notimex report said the Mexican government plans to make both BP and the United States pay, it was not clear from the story whether Mexico is planning to file suit against the U.S. government as well as the company.

As of yet, no oil has been found in Mexican waters, Environment Minister Juan Elvira told the news agency, though he added Mexico has already spent $35 million monitoring the spill.

The static kill, which officials have said could take up to 61 hours, could be followed by a final "bottom kill," after a relief well intercepts the crippled well -- a step estimated to start some five to seven days after the static kill is complete. If the injectivity test is not successful, the static kill procedure would be skipped and the bottom kill effort would proceed, BP's Wells said Monday.

Federal officials remain cautious.

"I don't think we can see this as the end-all, be-all, until we actually get the relief wells done," said Thad Allen, the government point man on the Gulf spill.

According to a statement from BP, the administration will continue to hold the responsible parties accountable for repairing the damage and repaying Americans who've suffered a financial loss as a result of the BP oil spill. To date, 139,261 claims have been opened, from which more than $271 million have been disbursed.

Source : CNN

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