BP TO MAKE DECISION ON ‘TOP KILL’ PLAN TO STEM OIL LEAK
Baku, May 26 (AZERTAC). The oil company BP is to decide on whether to carry out a new plan to try to stem the leaking Gulf of Mexico oil well, the chief executive has said, according to the BBC.
Tony Hayward said the procedure would begin on Wednesday if considered safe.
Teams have been carrying out diagnostic tests to ensure the “top kill” method is feasible and will not backfire. The government has approved the move.
Meanwhile, a congressional memo has revealed there were several warning signs shortly before the rig exploded.
According to the document, BP officials told congressional investigators on Tuesday that a decision to continue drilling after unusual pressure readings may have been a “fundamental mistake”.
BP said the buildup of pressure was an “indicator of a very large abnormality” in the well, the memo by representatives Henry Waxman and Bart Stupak said.
Problems were also identified with equipment including the blowout preventer - meant to shut down the well in the case of emergency - and potential gas leakage in the hours prior to the 20 April explosion, the memo said.
Speaking on US television on Wednesday, Mr Hayward said: “What we`re seeing here is a whole series of failures. We`ve identified... at least seven”.
“It`s very clear that much more needs to be put in place to deal with this situation should it ever occur again.”
He added: “It`s clear that this will be a transforming event in the history of deep water exploration.”
Questions were raised in the memo as to whether proper procedures were followed in carrying out pressure testing and other activities in the 24 hours before the explosion.
A worker for Transocean, the Deepwater Horizon rig`s owner, told US Coast Guard investigators he had heard senior managers complaining that BP was “taking shortcuts” by using seawater instead of drilling mud in the well before the blowout, according to witness statements seen by the Associated Press news agency.
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