Relief Well Moving Forward
Saiward Pharr, WRKF; AP
July 9, 2010
Baton Rouge, LA
Efforts to stop the gushing Deepwater Horizon well with an intercepting relief well appear to be moving forward. National Incident Commander Thad Allen said Thursday crews expect to reach the existing well and drill into its outer casing in seven to 10 days. He also said it's possible the relief well could be completed ahead of schedule. But a lot of things would have to go right.
If the oil is coming up through all the different rings of the well, then it will likely take until the middle of August to stop the flow with mud and cement. If it's only coming up the well's center pipe, it could be sooner.
A BP spokesman says late July would be an ideal completion time. That would also be in time for the company's quarterly earnings report. However, a single major storm is enough to cause delays, so the company is sticking with mid-August.
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