GULF SPILL: BP PREPARES FOR KEY OIL-WELL TEST
Baku, July 15 (AZERTAC). Oil firm BP is preparing to test the strength of a cap it has placed on the leaking well in the Gulf of Mexico, in its latest bid to stop the flow, according to BBC.
BP began closing valves on Wednesday, but a leak was detected and testing will not begin until it has been fixed.
The government earlier delayed the whole procedure to allow experts to assess BP`s plans, amid fears that a failure could make the situation worse.
An explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig in April caused the leak.
There is a tremendous sense of urgency," said Adm Thad Allen, the US incident commander. But he warned that nobody wanted to make "an irreversible mistake".
BP hopes the series of valves will be capable of holding back all of the oil from the well.
Once the leak in the choke valve has been fixed, experts will begin to test the integrity of the new capping device to check whether oil will leak out of other areas if valves on the blow-out preventer and new cap are closed.
The experts will monitor seismic, acoustic and temperature changes in the well and the surrounding area, as well as the pressure of the oil in the well.
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