BP PREPARES OPERATION TO SEAL GULF OF MEXICO OIL WELL
Baku, August 2 (AZERTAC). BP could begin sealing its oil well in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday night, three months after its rupture led to the worst oil spill in US history.
The US official overseeing the federal response said engineers were preparing to pump mud and cement into the well in a procedure known as a “static kill”.
Mud and cement would then be pumped in from a relief well below five to seven days later, Admiral Thad Allen said.
Only that “bottom kill” would fully seal it, he said.
The well has been temporarily sealed for two weeks after spilling up to 60,000 barrels of oil a day into the sea since 20 April, when an explosion on a drilling rig off Louisiana killed 11 workers and triggered the leak.
Last week, BP reported a record $17bn (£11bn) loss, having set aside $32bn to cover the costs of the spill.
The oil has caused an environmental disaster and devastated coastal communities in four US states.
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