Testing proceeds on BP’s undersea well past 24-hour mark
I hope there’s not an underground leak of oil into some sort of pocket that will not be able to hold it. Gah.
More of this story is at the link.
New Orleans, Louisiana (CNN) — The verdict so far: generally good news but still some uncertainty about whether there’s a leak in BP’s well in the Gulf of Mexico, now fitted with a containment cap.
That’s the assessment of the retired Coast Guard admiral overseeing the government’s response to the oil spill, more than 24 hours into a critical test checking the well’s ability to hold up under pressure.
Thad Allen reported Friday afternoon that pressure is rising in the well, a sign that the well is holding and that the leak that had been spewing oil into the Gulf for nearly three months can be contained.
But pressure readings have not reached the optimal level.
Pressure was up to 6,700 pounds per square inch inside the well’s capping stack, he said. More than a day into the “well integrity” test, pressure above 7,500 pounds per square inch would indicate “high integrity and low potential for a leak,” according to Allen.
What does 6,700 pounds per square inch mean? Government scientists and BP experts aren’t quite sure. It could be a leak, or it could simply be that so much oil has spilled out already, it’s taking a while to build up pressure.