BP abandons ‘top kill’, to try new strategy - Gulf oil spill- msnbc.com
A live feed of the leak showed preparations Saturday for BP’s next step. An underwater robot gripped a saw near the bent and leaking pipe, or riser, atop a failed blowout preventer. BP aims to slice off the pipe and place a cap and seal over the opening. The idea is to connect that to a new riser from the drillship above, with the hopes of capturing oil and natural gas.
That operation is known as the lower marine riser package, and Suttles confirmed that BP had been preparing for that step “all along.”