BP Makes Successful Cut in Pipe; Cap Will Be a Challenge

Posted in Alabama Maritime News,BP British Petroleum,Deepwater Horizon,Environment,Florida Maritime News,Government,Gulf Coast,Louisiana Maritime News,Transocean on June 3, 2010

METAIRIE, La. – Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said Thursday morning that BP made a successful cut into the Deepwater Horizon well’s riser pipe using giant shears, after abandoning a diamond wire saw that got jammed there the day before.

Pipe continues gushing oil as BP prepares to cap the leak

BP’s underwater robots have succeeded in shearing through the pipe atop a blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico, the top U.S. official overseeing the cleanup said on Thursday.

“We have just cut the riser pipe off of the lower marine riser package,” said Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, speaking at a briefing in Metairie, Louisiana.

The Coast Guard called the success a “significant step forward,” and said a cap to contain the oil would be lowered “in the next couple of hours.”

“The challenge now is to seat that containment cap over it,” Allen told reporters, referring to the next step in the so-called “cut and cap” containment technique. Allen said he will be meeting with Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal later in the day.

However, it warned that the pipe cut was irregular and it would therefore be more challenging to get the cap on.

Once the cap is in place, BP will begin funneling oil and gas to the surface, the Coast Guard said.

The White House announced thst President Obama is headed back to the Gulf Coast Friday “to assess the latest efforts to counter the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill.”

Source: MSNBC