- BP engineers stopped the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, according to one BP official.
- It was the biggest step forward in halting the worst oil spill in U.S. history.
This still image taken Thursday from a live BP video feed shows that the oil appears to have stopped gushing from the well. Click to enlarge this image.
BP
BP engineers announced on Thursday they've 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.
"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 Thursday, 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 a BP-leased rig sank 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," Wells said, adding it was a very "encouraging sign" as the British energy giant works to shut down the oil flow.
Experts have estimated some 35,000 to 60,000 barrels a day have been flowing into the Gulf for some 13 weeks, leaving millions of gallons sloshing around in the waters, threatening vulnerable wildlife and fouling the shores of five Gulf states.
Wells reminded reporters the aim of the pressure tests was to "assess the integrity of the well" as it is not known whether the wellbore which stretches deep below the seabed was damaged in the April 20 explosion.
Over the next 48 hours, engineers will be closing monitoring the pressures inside the giant 30-foot (10-meter) cap placed on the well earlier this week.
High pressures will show that there is no other leakage underground, whereas low pressures may indicate that the casing of wellbore has cracked and is leaking.
"We would like the result that says there is prefect integrity," Wells said, but cautioned it was too early to say whether the leaking well had been completely choked off.
"We are not sure exactly what we will be able to determine" from the data which will be gathered during the tests, Wells said, cautioning the company may need to reopen the well again.
Tags: Coast Guard, Disasters and Accidents, Experts, Explosions, Government
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