BRKG BP says oil has stopped leaking 7/15/10

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-10654584

15 July 2010 Last updated at 20:53
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BP says oil has stopped leaking
breaking news

BP says it has temporarily stopped oil flowing into the Gulf of Mexico from its leaking well.

It is the first time the flow has stopped since an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig on 20 April.

The well has been sealed with a cap as part of a test of its integrity that could last up to 48 hours.

BP executive Kent Wells said the oil was stopped at 1425 local time (1925 GMT) and he was "excited" by the progress.
US Oil Spill

* Damage assessment
* Which way forward for BP?
* Ways BP has tried to stop the leak
* BP facing 7-year US offshore ban

But BP is stressing that even if no oil escapes for 48 hours, that will not mean the flow of oil and gas has been stopped permanently.

The pressure testing is necessary to check the strength of the well. If the pressure within the cap on top is low, that could indicate oil is leaking out further down the well.

The US government's incident commander, Adm Thad Allen, said even if it was successful, the well would be reopened and oil capture by ships on the surface would restart while a seismic test was done.

"We can go back then and put the system under pressure again. Once we are convinced we can certainly consider shutting in the well that is always possible and we would certainly look to do that."
Steps in the test
Continue reading the main story

1. The middle ram valve regulating the oil flow on top of the cap is closed
2. The kill valve is closed off
3. The choke is closed, beginning the test
4. BP and government experts will assess progress every six hours
5. But if low pressure is detected they will open the well up instantly
6. Other precautions include extra monitoring, such as by remote vehicles on the seabed

But he emphasised that the option of shutting in the well - closing all the valves and stopping the flow - was a "side benefit" of the new capping stack.

The priority had always been to increase the amount of oil being captured and piped to the surface, he said.

Whatever happens will be a temporary solution, ahead of a relief well being used to permanently killing the original well with mud and cement.

Work on both of the relief wells is currently suspended because of the integrity test. One of the relief wells is within four or five feet horizontally and 100ft vertically of intersecting.

The pressure test was twice delayed before starting on Thursday, once while additional checks were put in place to allay fears it could make the leak worse, and on Wednesday by a leaking piece of equipment.

Meanwhile, BP continues to face political pressure in the US.

A Congressional committee has agreed measures that would ban the firm from new offshore drilling for seven years.

And in a separate move, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said she will look into a request by four senators to investigate allegations that BP lobbied for the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi while attempting to finalise an oil deal with Libya.

The 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 killed 270 people - most of them were American.

Megrahi, who has terminal prostate cancer, was freed by Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill on compassionate grounds in August 2009 after serving eight years.

In a statement on Thursday, BP admitted it had expressed concern to the UK government about the slow progress of a prisoner transfer agreement between the two countries.

But the firm said it had taken no part in discussions on the decision to free Megrahi.

And the UK ambassador to Washington, Sir Nigel Sheinwald, said: "Claims in the press that Megrahi was released because of an oil deal involving BP, and that the medical evidence used by the Scottish Executive supporting his release was paid for by the Libyan government, are not true."

Watching live on Fox now and yes, IT HAS STOPPED!!!!

Terriannie said:

Watching live on Fox now and yes, IT HAS STOPPED!!!!

Click to expand...

YEA! Thank God!

I hope we can start trusting BP at some point. We'll certainly see.

BP Jumps 10% Into the Close; Says Cap Stops Leak

Fair use
http://blogs.barrons.com/stockstowa...to-the-close-cap-stops-leak/?mod=yahoobarrons

By Tiernan Ray
July 15, 2010, 4:00 PM ET

Shares of BP (BP) are up $2.79, or almost 8%, at $38.97, after treading water for most of the day, as the company said its testing of a new cap placed on the well head revealed the cap had stopped oil from leaking into the Gulf of Mexico for the first time since April once all of its valves were shut, according to an Associated Press report this afternoon.

Kent Wells, a BP PLC vice president, said at a news briefing that oil stopped flowing into the water at 2:25 p.m. CDT, according to AP.

Since this is breaking new could someone PLEASE put a date in the thread title. Please?

Thank you so much, it will help later on.

Don't lose sight of the fact that there are millions upon millions of gallons of crude floating near the shores, killing marine life, destroying local economies and neither BP or Obama should not be off any hooks here.

Mike

BP stops oil as test starts

Fair use
http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/australian-news/7592100/bp-begins-pressure-test-on-well-cap/

North America correspondent Kim Landers and staff,
ABC
July 16, 2010, 3:25 am

BP engineers stopped oil flowing into the Gulf of Mexico for the first time since April as they shut all valves on a new cap placed on top of a fractured wellhead, a BP official said this morning.

"It is good to see no oil going into the Gulf of Mexico," said senior vice president Kent Wells, but he cautioned: "We are just starting the test."

He said the oil flow stopped as the last of three valves on a huge capping stack was shut, but engineers were keeping a close eye on the operation to see whether any oil began leaking again.

It was the biggest step forward in halting the worst oil spill in US history which has been flowing into the sea since an explosion sank a BP-leased rig on April 22, two days after a major explosion on the deepwater drilling platform.

"I'm very excited to see no oil flowing into the Gulf of Mexico," Mr Wells added.

BP will test the pressure under the cap every six hours and is expected to keep the oil trapped in the cap for 48 hours before it decides if the approach is working.

There is a risk that a massive pressure shift could send oil shooting up through a new leak on the sea floor.

But the cap remains a temporary fix until one of two relief wells that BP is drilling can permanently plug the leaking oil well.

BP was due to begin the tests earlier, but a leak in equipment used to seal the gusher, called rams, delayed the start.

I wouldn't pop the champagne quite yet. It's indeed promising news, but time will tell whether or not this has worked.

Everyone KNOWS that there is still oil leaking and that there are no guarantees that this fix will work, but chill out and thank God that, for this 48 hour period (length of the test), there is no oil leaking from that pipe.

People are not stupid. Everyone knows that the clean-up will take decades, if not centuries--we just want to know when we can count the beginning of those decades.

And, yes, we know that there is oil leaking elsewhere in the Gulf. Oil has leaked from the sea floor in this area since the the beginning of time...or, at least since there's been oil down there.

Suttles on CNN (BP spokesman) says its an encouraging sign BUT way too early for celebration.

They'll have a better idea by Sat.

What they will do is break down this next 48 hrs into 6 hr segments. They will thoroughly review each segment then continue.

I dont get it.

Why cap it, for 48 hours and risk more damage to the wellbore, and a possible sea floor rupture?

They've stopped the leak, why not just pump the oil to the ships waiting above?.

Then continue with the relief wells and cement it in.

Volleyball Granny said:

Everyone KNOWS that there is still oil leaking and that there are no guarantees that this fix will work, but chill out and thank God that, for this 48 hour period (length of the test), there is no oil leaking from that pipe.

People are not stupid. Everyone knows that the clean-up will take decades, if not centuries--we just want to know when we can count the beginning of those decades.

And, yes, we know that there is oil leaking elsewhere in the Gulf. Oil has leaked from the sea floor in this area since the the beginning of time...or, at least since there's been oil down there.

Click to expand...

The DIFFERENCE being though, is that the NATURAL stuff was not being sprayed and dispersed by poison. It was eaten by nature...we can't forget that either...

I'm going to let my Thad Allen thread disappear into the sunset but there is a lot of valuable information on it about the testing that they are and will be doing.

For those interested in how it works and why they are saying they are only hopeful at this point is because there is a lot to do yet.

http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=366013

Fair use
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/07/test_of_gulf_of_mexico_oil_con.html

Four remote-operated vehicles will conduct sonar monitoring during the shut in procedure, while two others will study the sea floor immediately around the well site, Wells said.

Fisher said:

I dont get it.

Why cap it, for 48 hours and risk more damage to the wellbore, and a possible sea floor rupture?

They've stopped the leak, why not just pump the oil to the ships waiting above?.

Then continue with the relief wells and cement it in.

Click to expand...

They have to practice closing it under slow controlled conditions in case they have to suddenly close it in a hurry because of another hurricane or some accident.


OTOH
If certain ideas are true, people are going to get fired, and the people involved in capping it in particular are going to suddenly commit suicide. Stopping or even slowing the leak wasn't part of the unofficial plans some have suggested. They may need to do something to fix the problem a successful stopping of the leak poses.

Fisher said:

I dont get it.

Why cap it, for 48 hours and risk more damage to the wellbore, and a possible sea floor rupture?

They've stopped the leak, why not just pump the oil to the ships waiting above?.

Then continue with the relief wells and cement it in.

Click to expand...

If I understand correctly, they have no intention to produce out of this well. The intent is to permanently seal it, so they want to pressure test before making a permanent seal further down the well.

Technomancer said:

They have to practice closing it under slow controlled conditions in case they have to suddenly close it in a hurry because of another hurricane or some accident.

Click to expand...

Thanks, that makes sense.

milkydoo said:

If I understand correctly, they have no intention to produce out of this well. The intent is to permanently seal it, so they want to pressure test before making a permanent seal further down the well.

Click to expand...

I agree. They just were talking about it again that this will not be made into an operating well, but if they can't cement it shut then they will get shiploads of oil out of it. 80,000 barrels a day. Something doesn't smell right again.

And not everybody on the gulf is feeling so good about this new news. CNN just said there is something at 9000 ft and 17000' they are particularly interested in. But BP has not said what.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_gulf_...Ec2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yeQRzbGsDZnVsbG5ic3BzdG9y
..BP chokes off the oil leak; now begins the wait

By COLLEEN LONG and HARRY R. WEBER, Associated Press Writers Colleen Long And Harry R. Weber, Associated Press Writers – 16 mins ago
NEW ORLEANS – BP finally choked off the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday — 85 days and up to 184 million gallons after the crisis unfolded — then began a tense 48 hours of watching to see whether the capped-off well would hold or blow a new leak.

To the relief of millions of people along the Gulf Coast, the big, billowing brown cloud of crude at the bottom of the sea disappeared from the underwater video feed for the first time since the disaster began in April, as BP closed the last of three openings in the 75-ton cap lowered onto the well earlier this week.

But the company stopped far short of declaring victory over the biggest offshore oil spill in U.S. history and one of the nation's worst environmental disasters, a catastrophe that has killed wildlife and threatened the livelihoods of fishermen, restaurateurs, and oil industry workers from Texas to Florida.

Now begins a waiting period during which engineers will monitor pressure gauges and watch for signs of leaks elsewhere in the well. The biggest risk: Pressure from the oil gushing out of the ground could fracture the well and make the leak even worse.

"For the people living on the Gulf, I'm certainly not going to guess their emotions," BP vice president Kent Wells said. "I hope they're encouraged there's no oil going into the Gulf of Mexico. But we have to be careful. Depending on what the test shows us, we may need to open this well back up."

The news elicited joy mixed with skepticism from wary Gulf Coast residents following months of false starts, setbacks and failed attempts. Alabama Gov. Bob Riley's face lit up when he heard the oil flow had stopped.

"That's great. I think a lot of prayers were answered today," he said.

President Barack Obama called it a positive sign, but cautioned: "We're still in the testing phase."

The stoppage came 85 days, 16 hours and 25 minutes after the first report April 20 of an explosion on the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon oil rig that killed 11 workers. Somewhere between 94 million and 184 million gallons spilled into the Gulf, according to government estimates.

"Finally!" said Renee Brown, a school guidance counselor visiting Pensacola Beach, Fla., from London, Ky. "Honestly, I'm surprised that they haven't been able to do something sooner, though."

"I don't believe that. That's a lie. It's a (expletive) lie," said Stephon LaFrance, an oysterman in Louisiana's oil-stained Plaquemines Parish who has been out of work for weeks. "I don't believe they stopped that leak. BP's trying to make their self look good."

Wells said the oil stopped flowing into the water at 2:25 p.m. CDT after engineers gradually dialed down the amount of crude escaping through the last of three valves in the cap, an 18-foot-high metal stack of pipes and valves.

On the video feed, the violently churning cloud of oil and gas coming out of a narrow tube thinned, and tapered off. Suddenly, there were a few puffs of oil, surrounded by cloudy dispersant BP was pumping on top. Then, there was nothing.

"I am very pleased that there's no oil going into the Gulf of Mexico. In fact, I'm really excited there's no oil going into the Gulf of Mexico," Wells said.

The cap is designed to stop oil from flowing into the sea, either by bottling it up inside the well, or capturing it and piping it to ships on the surface. Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the Obama administration's point man on the disaster, said it is not yet clear which way the cap will be used. The answer could depend on the pressure readings over the next two days.

Even if it works, the cap is not a permanent fix, and not the end of the crisis by any means. BP is drilling two relief wells so it can pump mud and cement into the leaking well in hopes of plugging it permanently by mid-August. After that, the Gulf Coast faces a monumental cleanup and restoration that could take years.

BP stock, which has mainly tumbled since the spill began, closed nearly 8 percent higher on the New York Stock Exchange after the news.

Steve Shepard, Gulf Coast chairman of the Mississippi Chapter of the Sierra Club, said he was still skeptical about the news. "I think it's a little premature to say it's definitely over. They've gotten our hopes up so many times before that in my mind I don't think it's going to be over until Christmas."

Nine-year-old Lena Durden threw up her hands in jubilation when her mother told her the oil was stopped.

"God, that's wonderful," said Yvonne Durden, a Mobile-area native who now lives in Seattle and brought her daughter to the coast for a visit. "When came here so she could swim in the water and see it in case it's not here next time."

Randall Luthi, president of the Washington-based National Ocean Industries Association, a national trade group representing the offshore oil industry, said: "This is by far the best news we've heard in 86 days. You can bet that industry officials and their families are taking a big sigh here."

___

Fisher said:

I dont get it.

Why cap it, for 48 hours and risk more damage to the wellbore, and a possible sea floor rupture?

They've stopped the leak, why not just pump the oil to the ships waiting above?.

Then continue with the relief wells and cement it in.

Click to expand...

Love ya Fisher...but respectfully, they need to go on and do whatever it is they're doing, seal it up, shut it off, pay the people what the people are due and then
BE BANISHED FROM THE USA FOREVER~~~


I know that won't happen, but it felt good saying it...

Volleyball Granny said:

Everyone KNOWS that there is still oil leaking and that there are no guarantees that this fix will work, but chill out and thank God that, for this 48 hour period (length of the test), there is no oil leaking from that pipe.

People are not stupid. Everyone knows that the clean-up will take decades, if not centuries--we just want to know when we can count the beginning of those decades.

And, yes, we know that there is oil leaking elsewhere in the Gulf. Oil has leaked from the sea floor in this area since the the beginning of time...or, at least since there's been oil down there.

Click to expand...

They may not be oil leaking from THAT pipe, but there is oil leaking in other places. Old magician's trick, people.

VesperSparrow said:

Love ya Fisher...but respectfully, they need to go on and do whatever it is they're doing, seal it up, shut it off, pay the people what the people are due and then
BE BANISHED FROM THE USA FOREVER~~~


I know that won't happen, but it felt good saying it...

Click to expand...

Hi VesperSparrow,

Good to hear from you.

I was only talking about pumping the oil to the ships while they finish drilling the relief wells and cementing it in.

Fisher

I know that won't happen, but it felt good saying it...

Click to expand...

No it won't happen and I don't think you want it to happen.

There is no way no how this country can afford to turn it's back on even a tiny drop of oil. And it's doubtful if it is possible.

Meanwhile, we decide, foolishly, to pass a law banning BP oil from entry to the country. Meanwhile, all the other non-BP companies realize the position they've just been put in - and THE PROFIT THEY CAN MAKE by not being BP.

So they go out and buy on the world oil market all the oil they can. And then they sell it to us. "Is it BP oil" we ask? "Nope, definitely not BP oil" they reply with a straight face. Some fraction of that oil is indeed BP oil, but it doesn't matter. It takes high technology to tell, if you can, where a particular oil was from. But telling who recovered it from the ground is another harder matter entirely.

And one less oil vendor is one less possible competition that might reduce oil prices. And with less competition, prices climb.

Meanwhile, like the man who will only eat Grey Poupon mustard, we get the cream of the oil crop brought to us by non-BP sources. And there's lots of it at that price. And all the oil companies give each other the high five for being in the right place at the right time - and securing BP's share at a premium price.

Nope. Not possible and we'd be a fool to try it. But we're talking the Obama Administration here. Anything is possible.

Joe

Fisher said:

Hi VesperSparrow,

Good to hear from you.

I was only talking about pumping the oil to the ships while they finish drilling the relief wells and cementing it in.

Fisher

Click to expand...

Gotcha!!!

But still..kick em outta the GOM....



I don't feel one bit sorry for them and all the lies they've told, the uncertainties they've created, the chemicals they've thrown in our waters even when directed to STOP.

Let them go off the coasts of England and get some PRACTICE in before they are allowed to do this again.
And as far as the admin of the fake potus, drag him with them.

That's plain not true, Vesper, and I can't believe it's still being said.

The EPA approved Corexit and the Obama administration formed a committee that specifically recommended it's continued use.

There is NO Corexit being used without the blessing and permission of the US Government.

Did something just blow? Camera 5 http://www.jtnog.org/

As I understand it, the reason for this 'pressure test' is because when they go to seal the well off with the mud and cement, they will need to shut off the flow of oil. If they don't the oil flowing out of it would just wash the mud and cement right on out.

But,...I can see a 'problem' with that...wouldn't the oil pressure just push the mud back up the relief well?

Just glad I'm not the one in charge of it all out there.

OMG! That sure looked like a gush of oil just now!

BP is going to update on CNN within the hour.

VesperSparrow said:

Love ya Fisher...but respectfully, they need to go on and do whatever it is they're doing, seal it up, shut it off, pay the people what the people are due and then
BE BANISHED FROM THE USA FOREVER~~~


I know that won't happen, but it felt good saying it...

Click to expand...

I understand your anger but keep in mind that tens of thousands of Americans work for this company in the USA.

BP lies. Only again. I know for absolute certain there is a minimum of one leak, a BIG leak, because I saw it. Coming straight from the sea floor, straight up like under pressure, and black.

Agreed Sassy!!!

And, if we don't address and acknowledge the faults, ignorance and responsibility of the Administration and their approval/permitting/inspection process or lack thereof (no we don't need new laws, we need those we already have to not be ignored), it will happen again, doesn't matter the company you run off this time.

Remember, Hoagland and others have stated that the sea floor fissures are the big ones that we've never seen publicly. This is the leak for 'public consuption'. We're not out of the woods here, but hopefully solid work on this will allow them to relieve pressure in the deposit, and maybe minimize the fissure problem......let's hope.

Is there anything credible to backup Hoagland's speculations?

BP claiming something to be true has been the best contra-indicator around.

hmmmm what exactly has BP not been truthful about?

SassyinAZ said:

hmmmm what exactly has BP not been truthful about?

Click to expand...

"Leaking 1,000 gallons/day; no wait, 5,000 gallons/day; 40,000 gallons, etc."
"corexit is not dangerous"
"we'll give the unemployed fisherman jobs to replace the ones they lost"
"workers don't need respirators"
"we'll compensate gulf coast residents for their losses"

and the lies go on...

lafrteacher said:

"Leaking 1,000 gallons/day; no wait, 5,000 gallons/day; 40,000 gallons, etc."

Click to expand...

There is a government appointed flow committee that establishes the numbers.

"corexit is not dangerous"

Click to expand...

That's the EPA

"we'll give the unemployed fisherman jobs to replace the ones they lost"

Click to expand...

Has this not happened? or/are they not being reimbursed for their losses? I read reports from nola.com that they were receiving monthly compensation regularly, that is until the Government took over, then payments were delayed.

"workers don't need respirators"

Click to expand...

That's OSHA

"we'll compensate gulf coast residents for their losses"

Click to expand...

Are they not? 20 billion slush fund for direct losses and 100 for moratorium related losses? That's been turned over to the government (at their insistence) and Obama's "independent" administrator.

So I ask again, exactly what has BP been untruthful about and why aren't you willing to look at who is really lying to you?

SassyinAZ said:

That's plain not true, Vesper, and I can't believe it's still being said.

The EPA approved Corexit and the Obama administration formed a committee that specifically recommended it's continued use.

There is NO Corexit being used without the blessing and permission of the US Government.

Click to expand...

So you're telling me that the EPA did not tell them to not use the dispersant?
And of COURSE they NOW have the blessing of the US Government.

Wouldn't want the world to see what undispersed crude oil looks like when it covers the GOM.
The dispersant did just that. Covered it up.
Instead of the beaches and animals being found covered in oil, they're covered in little tiny unseen particles of oil.

I'm a drill baby drill person. Always have been. But I'll never defend the LIES of BP OR the feds. NOT EVER.
'
They ALL effed up and they KNOW it.

VesperSparrow said:

So you're telling me that the EPA did not tell them to not use the dispersant?
And of COURSE they NOW have the blessing of the US Government.

Wouldn't want the world to see what undispersed crude oil looks like when it covers the GOM.
The dispersant did just that. Covered it up.
Instead of the beaches and animals being found covered in oil, they're covered in little tiny unseen particles of oil.

I'm a drill baby drill person. Always have been. But I'll never defend the LIES of BP OR the feds. NOT EVER.
'
They ALL effed up and they KNOW it.

Click to expand...

No, they were never told to stop using dispersant, the were asked to consider using other dispersants or explain why they couldn't, which they did.

Obama then appointed a committee to investigate whether Corexit specifically should be used and the committee made the determination that should continue to be used. They were told to reduce the use of dispersant and that they had to get specific waivers from the Coast Guard.

In fact, that is the preferred method of addressing a spill according to our National Containment Plan (Federal) and as part of the permitting process they were required to have enough dispersant on hand to contain a spill of specific proportions (that our government, again, specifically defined).

Since then, the EPA based on it's findings from initial tests conducted, determined that Corexit had minimal impact and made the right call about it's continued use and it appears to be its newest first choice.

I don't know what to tell ya, I know you're pissed, but BP is doing what oil companies do, you just don't like that they had an accident which is always a possibility or we wouldn't bother to have requirements for a response plan (the Obama administration approved, btw), our Government is the one lying to you about it and the clean-up though.