Allen: "Static Kill" on Oil Well Moved Up

(AP)  The government's point man for the Gulf oil spill says preparations for an attempt to plug the gusher from above are going well enough that the timeline for the "static kill" may be moved up.

Work on the relief well needed for a permanent fix must be completed before the start of the static kill, which is intended to make the job of plugging the well for good easier.

Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said Thursday that crews will lay in the casing for the relief well later in the day. He says that could accelerate the work on the static kill, which he previously said would begin late Sunday or early Monday.

Special Section: Gulf Coast Oil Disaster

Allen also says there is now little chance that any of the spilled oil will reach the East Coast, and the odds will go to zero as the well is killed.

Allen also had plans Thursday to meet with coastal parish officials to talk about what's next now that the oil has stopped flowing.

He said crews are having trouble finding patches of the crude that had been washing up on beaches and coating delicate coastal wetlands since the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig exploded April 20, killing 11 people.

Crews have taken a crucial step toward readying the relief well they need to permanently stop the oil, removing a plug they had popped in to keep the well safe ahead of Tropical Storm Bonnie.

Allen said Wednesday that a temporary cap put on the busted well two weeks ago is holding firm. Before that, it spewed 94 million to 184 million gallons of oil.

Though no one knows for sure how much oil might be lurking below the surface, most of what was coming ashore has broken up or been sucked up by skimming boats or burned.

"The oil that we do see is weathered, it is sheen," Allen said.

Photos: 100 Days, 100 Photos

Barring a calamity, the oil won't start flowing again before BP PLC can permanently kill the well, which could happen as soon as mid-August. Allen said the Coast Guard expects oil to keep showing up on beaches four to six weeks after that happens.

Then, he said, the Coast Guard may start redeploying some of the 11 million feet of boom, 811 oil skimmers and 40,000 people that have been part of the oil spill response. Many of the workers are fishermen who have lost their livelihoods because of the spill.

Crews are taking every precaution as they work toward the permanent fix it's hoped the relief well will deliver.

"We have always asked for a backup plan for the backup plan," he said. "This relief well, while it is deep, it is something that has been done before. Obviously the depth is an issue here. But we are confident we are going to get this thing done."

Drilling the relief well has been a monthslong task, and BP had used several other techniques to stop the leak that had never been attempted before in mile-deep waters. Some were utter failures and none was totally successful until a carefully fitted cap was placed over the well and the leak stopped in mid-July.

The cap has stopped the flow but is only a temporary measure while crews finish the relief well that will plug up the gusher from below.

The work had to stop last week because of Bonnie, which passed through in weakened form without doing any major damage.

Now that the plug is out, the relief well must be flushed out with drilling mud before casing can be dropped in and cemented. All that should be done around Monday, Allen said, though he cautioned that was just an estimate.

Once everything is in place, crews will begin a procedure known as a static kill, pumping heavy mud straight down the well though the temporary cap and failed blowout preventer. If the well casing is intact, the mud will force the oil back down into the natural petroleum reservoir. Then workers will pump in cement to seal the casing.

The static kill is on track for completion some time next week. Then comes the "bottom kill," where the relief well will be used to pump in mud and cement; that process will take days or weeks, depending on the success of the static kill.

[wdworld51]

If a relief well is the answer to stopping this spill, why isn't it manatory that a relief be put in place on all wells so that it can be used in case of a emergency? Instead of it taking 2 to 3 months to stop this thing ,it could take only a few days if they were prepared for this tragedy. It would surely make the American people safer along with other safer pratices being put in place! If these extra safety measures cost us a penny or 2 a gallon ,so what. The price of gas goes up or down by pennies every week and our economy is worth the cost along with saving our envirement.

[wdworld51]

If a relief well is the answer to stopping this spill, why isn't it manatory that a relief be put in place on all wells so that it can be used in case of a emergency? Insread of it taking 2 to 3 months to stop this thing ,it could take only a few days if they were prepared for this tragedy. It would surely make the American people safer along with other safer pratices being put in place!

[partyofthefirstpart]

not only is the oil disappearing but i can't seem to find all the obama haters on here anymore either, i guess they can't take good news. just like during the elections they just vanish and never really partake in a democratic society they just want to rage about stuff and then never do anything positive like voting.

[Cyber998]

"Well the hundreds of millions of gallons of oil that spilled into the gulf didn't just simply vanish."

Leave some gas out uncovered on a hot day and it starts evaporating in no time. So oil can "vanish" although it seems bacteria is our greatest ally here.

[cjminil]

Let us all pray for the healing of the planet, and for the well-being of the people and flora and fauna in the area.

[45ford]

Well the hundreds of millions of gallons of oil that spilled into the gulf didn't just simply vanish. Just because the oil isn't visible to the naked eye doesn't restore the ecosystem or making it safe for humans and pets to venture back into those waters for recreation. No amount of yapping from the figureheads will convince me that.

In time, the real hidden dangers that lie in those waters will surface. Whether it's people wasting to a slow, painful death or getting terribly sick and dealing with life lingering aftereffects and expensive medical care from petro toxins or the chemicals sprayed in the Gulf, the problems are likely to come home to roost for those persons who fail to heed warnings about staying out of the water and not consuming the fish. It isn't safe being in the Gulf waters.

[Lifeson2112]

Talk about glass half-empty! The oil is beginning to break up. Certain bacteria even consume it. You have to keep in mind how much the media could have been sensationalizing this whole thing too. Half of my family is on the Gulf coast on vacation as I write this and there is no oil on the beach. We should celebrate the fact Earth is helping clean up BPs mess.

[45ford]

It makes no never mind to me that stubborn minded dolts ignore commonsense warnings and verifiable medical info concerning petro toxins. Instead you go right ahead and falsely believe that it?s okay to tread in or eat food from the Gulf waters. There are significant dangers from the catastrophic oil spill that cannot be seen or smelled, but it is there. A UV light shined on the sands and water at night gives a brief albeit a concerning glimpse of the petro toxins that lay in the environment.

I personally know multiple people who are dealing with severe neurological and auto-immune diseases after having indirectly ingested or absorbed small residual amounts of petro toxins and chemicals through the skin. It doesn?t take prolonged periods of time or exposure to large quantities of these toxins to severely impact the health of people and pets.

Instead of being a naysayer and dismissing truthful info, do the research for yourself and learn about it firsthand. There are very good reasons why people cleaning up the oil on the beaches are required to dress in white suits, gloves and additional layers of protection on extremities. The same applies as to why fishing has been banned in countless places down there.

In the end, there should be no complaining from you in the future about your health because you are too stubborn to heed sound advice.

[wrightstuff1836]

Great Article I Like it alot