BP Stopped "Top Kill" Early Friday

Updated at 7:12 p.m. ET

For the second time in as many days, BP stopped a last-ditch remedy in the middle of the night for filling a hole that has released millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, The New York Times reports.

Special Section: Disaster in the Gulf

The company stopped the so-called "top kill" method, which pumps a heavy fluid known as drilling mud into the blown-out well on the ocean floor, at 2:30 a.m. Friday, the same day President Obama traveled to the Gulf region, the newspaper reports.

At a news conference Friday evening, Doug Suttles, BP's chief operating officer, confirmed that pumping was stopped, but he didn't say when. Suttles described the halting as part of BP's plan.

"It's important to note that as part of this top kill job we'll have periods where we pumping and periods where we're not," said Suttles. "The fact that we stop for periods of time is not unusual."

The Times reports that pumping operations resumed around 3:45 p.m. local time.

Suttles explained that BP is alternating between the top kill and the so-called "junk shot" remedy, which shoots random physical objects into the broken wellhead to try to plug it.

"It's very, very difficult to interpret each of those pieces," Suttles said.

Suttles said BP still needs 24 to 48 hours to determine how well the different approaches are working. Even then, he said the company might need another 24 to 48 hours beyond that to determine what effect each remedy has on the leak.

Coast Guard Rear Adm. Mary Landry said that Coast Guard officials watch BP's live feed of the well overnight alongside BP employees. Landry told reporters that she gave instructions to wake her up if any changes needed to be reported to the media, yet the officials didn't acknowledge the stoppage until the Friday evening news conference.

"It's going basically according to plan," Suttles told reporters. "I realize it's frustrating."

BP started pumping the fluid into the well Wednesday afternoon and then suspended the method later that night, letting much of Thursday go by before alerting the media. The Times report about the latest stoppage came less than two hours before the Friday evening news conference.

On Friday, reporters received a note from a BP spokesman saying information on the top kill is now considered "stock-market sensitive" and updates can be provided only in "formal settings," though BP's CEO made the rounds of morning news shows after that to talk about it.

The spill has already become the worst in U.S. history, and there are no guarantees the so-called "top kill" being tried for the first time 5,000 feet underwater will work.

BP CEO Tony Hayward had projected a resolution as soon as Thursday afternoon, but an 18-hour delay in the injection of heavyweight mud meant to stop the oil scuttled those plans. Though engineers had stopped pumping the mud hours earlier, BP and Coast Guard officials assured the public Thursday morning that the process was going as planned.

Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said Friday the mud was able to push down the oil and gas coming up at great force from underground, but it had not overwhelmed the gusher or stopped the flow.

Mr. Obama, meanwhile, inspected a fouled beach and pledged that the government would "keep at it" until the spill that has become the worst in U.S. history is stopped and cleaned up. He also had a message for Gulf residents.

"I'm here to tell you that you are not alone, you will not be abandoned, you will not be left behind," he said. "The media may get tired of the story, but we will not. We will be on your side and we will see this through."

Friday's trip was the president's second to the coast since the BP-leased oil rig Deepwater Horizon exploded April 20, killing 11 workers and triggering the spill.

He stopped in Grand Isle, La., where the beach has been closed since globs of oil started washing up a week ago.

More Oil Spill Coverage

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Obama Forced to Become Defender-in-Chief Over Oil Spill
Palin, GOP say Obama's Oil Spill Response Comes up Short
Obama Vows to Help Stop Oil Spill's "Assault"
BP: "Top Kill" Working but More Time Needed
Online Resources to Drill into the BP Oil Disaster
Can BP Be Trusted in Light of its Past?

[perrylawson]

I don't understand why these oil company engineers can't get this leak stopped, I really hate to say it but I (along with I'm sure the rest of America) knew from the beginning that the "Top Kill" procedure wasn't going to work. I think the solution should be pretty simple, I would think that if you cover the leak with a pipe 4 times the diameter of the leak with 4 pipes the size of the leak with valves on them coming out the sides of the main pipe, you could lower that down over the leak and with the valves of the individual pipes open, cap the main pipe then you could hook up pipes to actually pump the oil to the surface, close the valves and cap the leak entirely, or pump cement into these individual pipes destroying the leak / well head. This wouldn't have a chance of failure because it works off common sense and would distribute the pressure of the leak making it more manageable, perhaps some small things would need to be changed like the diameter of the main pipe or the diameter of the pipes coming out of it or maybe the number of pipes. The point IS this sounds a hell of a lot smarter than pumping mud into the leak, which is gushing like a pressure washer. At least get the pressure down to something that is manageable, that will make the leak more manageable. Engineers, (Highly paid oil company engineers to be exact) should know this!

[JayEvans100]

Since top kill failed their next plan is to slice the end off the pipe, and while it is spewing millions of gallons, try to place a valve on it. There is a new video on the web that CEO Hayward needs to see. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNjp0pA7VEw This idea is not just adding a valve, it shows how to drill and seal the pipe without ever opening up the end of it. BP is talking about opening up the end and spilling millions more gallons as they add a valve to close. By watching the video I can see how this could be done anywhere on the pipe, not just near the blowout preventer, and not spill any more oil in the process. I saw were the President said to call him, but he did not leave a number. Does anyone know how to contact the parishes in L.A., I am sure they could suggest he watch this great idea. This video was just posted and the guy really has a good idea and someone important needs to see it.

[buddharealm]

we have only ourselves to blame.
first, for 30 years at least we have not told our federal elected representatives to develop an intelligent energy policy.
if we had an intelligent energy policy we would have:
1) safe nuclear plants producing electricity.
2) converted our vast diesel fleets of trucks & vehicles to natural gas.
3) having 1) & 2) our requirements for oil would be alot less.
by being fooled into thinking that nuclear plants that france, japan, etal have built are too dangerous, we have forced ourselves into a needy corner, that has pushed us to explore for oil in deeper & deeper regions of the gulf that as we are finding out can be very dangerous.
we have only ourselves to blame.
we have no intelligent energy policy.
hey, it's good that our first chance to stop being so stupid is coming up this november 2010. vote.

[wjksea]

Now the live feed shows both mud and crude puking out at the same time. I don't know how you can shoot stuff into a hole then stop and expect it not to run back out. Any man knows that if you go drilling if there ain't some kind of muscle holding in your drilling fluid it will just run back out of the hole.

I cannot imagine this lifeless gaping hole being able to keep any of that mud in there after pulling out.

[wjksea]

underdogus2009 May 29, 2010 7:11 AM EDT
Obama golfs while Gulf burns

http://steelers.football-news-update.com/timeline-obama-golfs-while-gulf-burns/
Reply to this comment
by addnarm May 29, 2010 7:54 AM EDT
george bush reads a "bunny rabbit book" while the "World Trade Towers Fall!"
--------------------------------------------------------------

Y'all fight each other over political sports teams. They are all just government bureaucrats. In the most basic form they are ALL socialists Palin included.

[underdogus2009]

Why do journalists keep using the measurment of "barrels" instead of gallons? Do you think your listeners know how much oil is in a "barrel"? The smaller figure is preferred by the polluters since it minimizes the spill.

[singlepayer4all]

Wont Know For Days If Top Kill Will Work. In other words, ITS NOT WORKING!

[Dgunner]

This country ignores the welfare of thier veterans and dying children. We complain about health care cost until the fishes and birbrd are threatened with a fatal threat. This makes me wonder what kind of country we have become. All of a sudden the health care crisis is at ened because we have a oil leak in the ocean. I'm betting somewhere this morning some mother and a so called doctor or baby killer is taking several hundrted human lives and you people worry about a f----in fish.How sad it is to be a american today .I f I had known the future in 68 I would run head on into enemy fire.

[underdogus2009]

Obama golfs while Gulf burns

http://steelers.football-news-update.com/timeline-obama-golfs-while-gulf-burns/

[addnarm]

george bush reads a "bunny rabbit book" while the "World Trade Towers Fall!"

[underdogus2009]

What you are about to read, is what the scientists in the United States are not allowed to tell you in great fear of the Obama administration.

http://doctorjamespwickstrom.blogspot.com/2010/05/what-u-s-scientists-are-forbidden-to.html

[addnarm]

if i hated the united states i would write hate-speech about our president and try to get others to do the same... just like alquida.

[larrryshrine]

This website is a bit suspicious. It touts complete disaster, but does not cite any sources, so cannot be believed. And there is this this passage on the website:

This website is dedicated to the education of the Children of YHVH (pronounced "Yah-Way") The White Western European people and nations, including the United States And Iceland, who are the Sons and Daughters of YAHWEH who are of the House of Jacob-Israel and are the House of Judah. (not the Jews of today)

"The White Western European people." Hmmm.

Sorry about the double post. Got confused. Happens a lot:)