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Oil well in Gulf spill successfully shut down
August 4th, 2010
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
After nearly a hundred days of alarm and crisis, the ruptured Deepwater Horizon oil rig - that set off untold millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico when it exploded and collapsed in April - has been successfully shut down. In addition, 74 percent of the oil that leaked from the well has been collected, dispersed or evaporated, according to a government report.
LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The study, from agencies including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Geological Survey and the Department of the Interior, says that of the total amount of oil that was spewed into the gulf -- the most recent estimate is 205.8 million gallons -- just 26 percent remains in the water, either on or just below the surface as light sheen and weathered tar balls.
The report lends credence to a top Obama administration energy official's statement that the crisis is "turning a corner," with the "vast majority" of the oil now gone. In addition, the procedure to permanently seal BP's crippled well apparently working.
"We definitely are making progress. The oil hasn't been leaking for some time," Carol Browner, director of the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy, told CNN. "The static kill is going well, but ultimately, it's the relief wells we ordered drilled that will be the 'final kill-kill.' Probably, in the next 10 to 14 days that will be done, but (it was) an important step last night."
"Our scientists and external scientists believe that the vast majority of the oil has now been contained. It's been skimmed. Mother Nature has done its part. It's evaporated. And so, I think we're turning a corner here," Browner added.
Success has been credited to "the fact that we launched the largest response in the history of our country. We had nearly 7,000 vessels, more than 40,000 people, working to clean this up: to capture it, to skim it, to burn it. And that's why the vast majority of the oil is gone. In terms of what's left, it will continue to weather in the ocean. If it comes ashore, obviously it can be cleaned up -- the tar balls, the sheens. But certainly, we're seeing far less oil than we were seeing," Browner said.
The well-killing procedure involves pumping heavy mud down from above to push oil back into the well reservoir.
"The well pressure is now being controlled by the hydrostatic pressure of the drilling mud, the desired outcome of the static kill procedure," a BP statement said. "The pumping of heavy drilling mud was stopped after about eight hours... The well is now being monitored, per the procedure, to ensure the well remains static."
In further remarks made on CNN, Browner also added they haven't forgotten the people deeply affected by the spill.
"We understand that while there is good news today, we have real work to continue to do in communities. We have to ensure that BP is held responsible, that the claims of the states, the local governments, and the people are honored and we will make sure that happens. We're not going anywhere."