BP GAINING CONFIDENCE ON SEAL FOR GULF OIL WELL
BP officials initially planned to conduct the pressure test over a 48-hour period, ending around mid-day Saturday. If pressure conditions remained high in the well, however, experts said the test could continue for as long as necessary to gather more data from the well.
BP senior vice president Kent Wells said Saturday that engineers are continuing with the test. He said pressure was rising slowly inside the well, which suggests there is no damage or breaches in the well pipe.
"We`re feeling more comfortable that we have integrity," he said. "The test is not over, we haven`t made final conclusions, and I want to stress that. But at this point there is no evidence we don`t have integrity and that is very good."
BP officials launched the test to assess possible damage to the well pipe which runs nearly four kilometers under the sea floor. Engineers feared the pipe may have been damaged after the Deepwater Horizon drill rig exploded and sank in April, killing 11 workers on the rig.
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