BP STUDIES STATIC KILL OPTION ON DAMAGED WELL
Baku, July 21 (AZERTAC). Oil company BP is considering a so-called "static kill" to seal off its damaged Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico, even as plans go forward to complete a relief well nearby. The plan would have to be approved by U.S. government officials who are working closely with BP engineers at the site.
The static kill would consist of an operation to pump mud into the damaged well through the cap that was successfully placed over it last week. The mud would overcome the flow of oil and gradually reduce the pressure so that the well could be sealed from above.
In a conference call with reporters, BP Senior Vice President Kent Wells explained.
"On the static kill we will actually start pumping at very low rates and just marginal pressure above what it is currently at," said Kent Wells. "After we get some mud in the hole, assuming everything goes according to plan, the pressure at the well head actually starts to go down, so you very quickly start to see benefits."
The advantage of the static kill is that it would push the flow of oil back down into the reservoir below the ocean floor and then seal it with cement. The procedure would effectively choke off the lines and openings of the old blowout preventer that failed to shut off the flow of oil after the explosion on the drilling rig in April. The static kill is similar to the unsuccessful top kill that BP tried in May. Company engineers think that a reduction in oil flow pressure now favors this approach.
Kent Wells says BP is continuing with its plan to intersect with the underground well shaft by next week and that one of two relief wells being drilled is now within a few meters of that intersection 4,200 meters below the seabed. Mud and cement would also be used in this procedure to seel the well below the seabed. Wells said the tandem approach of the static kill and relief well should permanently seal the well by the middle of August, assuming U.S. officials approve the plan. But, he said, company engineers are moving very slowly with what he called an abundance of caution so as not to have any unintended consequences.
Wells said BP is continuing to test the pressure of the well daily and is using seismic tests to make sure there are no leaks from the seabed.
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