[THS] Oil Cap Leaking: Seepage Detected Two Miles From Wellhead

[The Harder Stuff in news and commentary]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/19/oil-cap-leak-coast-guard_n_650851.html

Oil Cap Leaking: Seepage Detected Two Miles From Wellhead

First Posted: 07-19-10 08:09 AM   |   Updated: 07-19-10 05:09 PM

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Oil and gas are leaking from the cap on BP's ruptured oil well
but the cork will stay in place for now, the federal government's point man on the
spill said Monday.

The leaks aren't "consequential," retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said, relieving
concerns that they are a sign the cap is creating too much pressure underground.
That could mean the cap that's stopped oil since Thursday would have to be opened.

Allen said BP could continue testing the cap, meaning keeping it shut, for at least
another 24 hours. He said BP must keep rigorously monitoring for any signs that this
test could worsen the overall situation.

If there was a quick rise in pressure, the well would be vented immediately to keep
from creating leaks deep underground, Allen said.

Allen repeated Monday that the next step wasn't clear.

"I'm not prepared to say the well is shut in until the relief well is done. There are too
many uncertainties," he said.

The concern all along - since pressure readings on the cap weren't as high as
expected - was a leak elsewhere in the well bore, meaning the cap may have to be
reopened to prevent the environmental disaster from becoming even worse and
harder to fix.

With the newly installed cap keeping oil out of the Gulf, this weekend offered a
chance for the oil company and government to gloat over their shared success - the
first real victory in fighting the spill.

Instead, the two sides have spent the past two days disagreeing over what to do with
the undersea machinery holding back the gusher.

"We had some concerns ... about commitments that BP had made that we did not
feel that they were adequately living up to in terms of that monitoring," said White
House spokesman Robert Gibbs said. "That was dealt with last night on a call that
lasted late into the evening."

The apparent disagreement began to sprout Saturday when Allen said the cap would
eventually be hooked up to a mile-long pipe to pump the crude to ships on the
surface. But early the next day, BP chief operating officer Doug Suttles said the cap
should stay clamped shut to keep in the oil until a permanent fix.

The company very much wants to avoid a repeat of millions of gallons of oil spewing
from the blown well for weeks, watched live across the country on underwater video.

If the valves are kept closed, as BP wants, it's possible that no more oil will leak into
the Gulf of Mexico. Work on a permanent plug is moving steadily, with crews drilling
into the side of the ruptured well from deep underground. By next week, they could
start blasting in mud and cement to block off the well for good.

But the government is worried that the cap on the well is causing oil and gas to leak
out elsewhere, which could make the sea floor unstable and cause the well to
collapse. That's why federal officials want to pump the crude to ships on the surface.
That would require opening the well for a few days to relieve pressure before the
pipes could be hooked up, letting millions more gallons of oil spill out in the interim.
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Sea floor leak now confirmed: 

May have been hidden by Gulf oil spill media blackout
http://exm.nr/d4Llps

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What Does the Seep Mean for the Gulf?: 

What is clear is if this seep is related to the capped well, the situation at the bottom of the gulf is verging on a nightmare scenario for BP and everyone affected by the oil spill.
http://news.discovery.com/earth/what-does-the-seep-mean-for-the-gulf.html

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