NEW ORLEANS (Dow Jones)--BP PLC (BP, BP.LN) is unlikely to cut off the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico by drilling a relief well before August, U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen said Monday. BP has drilled down over 11,000 feet below the sea floor to within 20 feet of a well that has leaked oil for over two months. The company says it has only 900 feet deeper to drill before cutting over to the leaking well and pumping in heavy fluid to plug it. But that last drilling "has to be done very slowly" to avoid hitting the well early, Allen said at a press briefing in New Orleans. He said he didn't believe the leak would be plugged before August, the original time frame BP gave when drilling began in May. Allen said high seas kicked up by tropical storm Alex won't interrupt drilling of the relief well, though they could delay installation of a rig to boost the amount of oil siphoned off from the leak. BP is collecting between 20,000 and 25,000 barrels a day on two rigs and hopes to boost that total to between 40,000 and 50,000 barrels a day with the third rig. -By Brian Baskin, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2453; brian.baskin@dowjones.com Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/nae/al?rnd=MYU%2BsA%2FL%2B7jni2JMW9T9AQ%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day. (END) Dow Jones Newswires
Monday, June 28, 2010
BP PLC (BP, BP.LN) is unlikely to cut off the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico by drilling a relief well before August, U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen
NEW ORLEANS (Dow Jones)--BP PLC (BP, BP.LN) is unlikely to cut off the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico by drilling a relief well before August, U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen said Monday. BP has drilled down over 11,000 feet below the sea floor to within 20 feet of a well that has leaked oil for over two months. The company says it has only 900 feet deeper to drill before cutting over to the leaking well and pumping in heavy fluid to plug it. But that last drilling "has to be done very slowly" to avoid hitting the well early, Allen said at a press briefing in New Orleans. He said he didn't believe the leak would be plugged before August, the original time frame BP gave when drilling began in May. Allen said high seas kicked up by tropical storm Alex won't interrupt drilling of the relief well, though they could delay installation of a rig to boost the amount of oil siphoned off from the leak. BP is collecting between 20,000 and 25,000 barrels a day on two rigs and hopes to boost that total to between 40,000 and 50,000 barrels a day with the third rig. -By Brian Baskin, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2453; brian.baskin@dowjones.com Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/nae/al?rnd=MYU%2BsA%2FL%2B7jni2JMW9T9AQ%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day. (END) Dow Jones Newswires
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment