Got weather? Customize with your location!

Oil spill recovery: BP installs new containment cap, testing underway (video)

Charisse Van Horn's photo
Oil Spill Recovery Examiner

Oil spill recovery: BP installs new containment cap, testing underway (video)

The new BP containment cap was installed on the Deepwater Horizon LMRP at approximately 9:00 p.m. ET, BP announced in a statement. The installation process is finished and the new cap has been sealed. Testing will begin on July 13, 2010 to determine how much oil the new cap is preventing from flowing. The test, referred to as a well integrity test, will take between 6 and 48 hours to complete.

During testing, the newly attached Helix Producer, the Q4000 and the containment cap installed today (known as the three ram capping stack) will be shut down. BP hopes that during testing all oil flow will cease. BP states that even if the test shows that there is no oil gushing on the ocean floor that the oil flow has permanently be fixed. BP is currently working on two relief wells which will be a permanent fix. Should the tests prove successful; the new wells will be installed, hopefully by the end of August.

There are no guarantees that the three ram capping stack will prove effective as it has never been used at the depths in which it was installed today.


Advertisement

, Oil Spill Recovery Examiner

Charisse Van Horn is a successful freelance writer who has written for numerous genres including investigative journalism and grant writing. She volunteers her time for causes such as homelessness, domestic abuse, and the rehabilitation of those who've been incarcerated.

Don't miss...