General

BP pushing to stop oil leak ahead of schedule

Plugging well will require tricky mud-cement infusion

A BP executive says the company is pushing to fix its runaway oil well by July 27, weeks earlier than the deadline previously discussed publicly. BP managing director Bob Dudley told the Wall Street Journal that the well could be fixed soon if there are no interruptions, but in a Thursday morning briefing National Incident Commander Thad Allen said the company is sticking to the official government estimate that the relief well will be finished by mid-August. A massive dose of mud and cement shot through a relief well now being drilled in order to stop the gushing of oil from the well. However, plugging it will require the mud and cement infusion to strike the blown-out well exactly where the oil is pouring out, and Allen said the company can’t bet on getting it right the first time. Rough weather over the past two weeks has slowed efforts to hook up a new containment system, but the drilling of two relief wells by two large rigs is continuing nearby.

Washington Post

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