Final Well Kill May Begin This Week

by Miles Wolf Tamboli - Talk Radio News Service

In his daily operational update Monday, National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen told reporters that “the job before us now is to finish the relief well… and then seal the well with cement from the bottom up. That will, in our view, at that point, permanently kill the well.”

“We expect that some time towards the end of the week we’ll be in a position to intercept the annulus and commence the kill,” he said.

In the meantime, the response team is moving forward, focusing their attention on cleaning the beaches and wetlands impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Over the next week, Allen will be meeting with local leaders and parish presidents along the coast to coordinate a stronger local response.

As BP Fills Well With Cement, Response Team Moves To Recovery

by Miles Wolf Tamboli - Talk Radio News Service

In an operational update in Washington, Thursday, National Incident Commander Thad Allen stated; “the decision was made last night that the well was in the proper condition where we could cement it. That would increase the integrity of the well, as far as potential leaking of hydrocarbons, and would actually enhance our ability to do the bottom kill … this is not the end, but it will virtually assure us that there will be no chance of oil leaking into the environment.”

After successfully pumping heavy drilling mud into the Macondo deepwater well in the Gulf of Mexico, BP was authorized by the Coast Guard last night to begin cementing the well - a large step toward killing the well once and for all.  Cementing began around 8:30 am EST, Thursday, and may take up to two days to cure enough for drilling to resume on two crucial relief wells.

Once the cement has set for a “certain amount of time,” drilling into the annulus (the area between the pipeline and the rock) should take five to seven days, according to top officials.

“this is not the end, but it will virtually assure us that there will be no chance of oil leaking into the environment,” continued Allen; “I will say once again to the people of the Gulf that we are committed to finishing this cleanup, and holding BP accountable, and we will continue to do that.”

In an operational update from New Orleans that afternoon the Federal On-Scene Coordinator, Rear Admiral Paul Zukunft, explained that, 21 days since any oil has entered the Gulf from the Macondo well, he has seen evidence of recovery in heavily-oiled Barataria Bay in Louisiana. 

Zukunft described the resilience of the Gulf ecosystem, and told the press that a key goal in the next phase of the oil spill response will be the inclusion of local leaders in policy-making. He warned, however; “in terms of tar balls washing ashore, we are definitely talking months, potentially years.”

Static Kill A Success, According to Officials

By Miles Wolf Tamboli - Talk Radio News Service

“Static kill,” an attempt by the Joint Oil Spill Response Team to plug the Macondo deepwater oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, has effectively stopped the leak, according to Admiral Thad Allen, the National Incident Commander.

“We now have equalized … the hydrostatic pressure of the seawater with the pressure inside the capping stack,” said Allen during a press briefing at the White House Wednesday. Allen added that he is confident, “that there will be no oil leaking into the environment.”

“We have significantly improved our chances to finally kill the well with the relief wells,” Allen said.

BP released a statement earlier in the day calling the success, “a significant milestone.”

Although the mile-deep well off the coast of Louisiana has not leaked a significant amount of oil in almost three weeks, thanks to a “stacking cap” that was placed on the leak on July 15th, many are elated that the response command has made such a crucial step in sealing the well off for good.  President Obama told a conference of AFL-CIO union leaders in Washington on Wednesday, “The long battle to stop the leak and contain the oil is finally close to coming to an end.”

The static kill began as a series of tests Tuesday afternoon, with heavy drilling mud being pumped from about 3 pm CDT until 11 pm CDT through a maze of equipment until the pressure inside the well equalized with the pressure on the sea floor, according to a statement by BP.

Workers are attempting to determine whether to follow the mud with a concrete cap for added security, or to simply move ahead with the relief wells. Either way, Allen told reporters, the next step is to complete the relief wells, as the static kill is only the preliminary portion of the final end to the leak. 

“This job will not be complete until we finish the relief well,” said Allen. 

Static Kill Moved Back To Late Monday, Early Tuesday; Allen Defends Dispersant Regulation

by Miles Wolf Tamboli - Talk Radio News Service

National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen briefed reporters Sunday afternoon in his daily update on the BP-Deepwater Horizon oil spill, providing details about the upcoming “static kill” effort and addressing fears over dispersants.

The discovery of some forty feet of debris in a relief well stifled hopes that the joint disaster response team could have been able to begin the “static kill” Sunday or early Monday. 

“The entire casing is clean … they will start cementing the casing in place, probably about four or five hours from now. Following that, we will be in a position to start with the static kill as early as [Monday] night or into Tuesday,” said the administration’s point man on the spill response.

Allen continued that the “bottom kill” will begin five to seven days “minimum” after this attempt. The former Coast Guard official sent a reminder that, “the static kill is not the end-all be-all.” Although the well has not leaked a significant amount of oil in some two weeks, Admiral Allen will not consider the leak plugged until the “bottom kill” has been completed.

The US Coast Guard has been attracting criticism recently over their regulation of BP’s use of chemical dispersants in the Gulf over the past three months.  Although the Coast Guard had promised to cut back dispersant use by 75% and heavily regulate their use to extreme circumstances, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass) released a letter Friday, claiming that the Coast Guard had granted BP permission to use high levels of dispersants 64 times in a 48-day period.

“These exemptions are in no way a ‘rare’ occurrence,” said Markey in a letter to Allen on July 30th. The Representative questioned, “whether the Coast Guard made sufficient efforts to verify the information BP provided in support of its requests, and whether it exercised appropriate oversight surrounding the use of these toxic chemicals.”

Allen responded to criticism with a statement that decisions to allow the use of chemical dispersants are made by the Federal On Scene Coordinator, and are “closely supervised.”

“Sometimes there is no other way to attack the oil - they had to use dispersants,” said Allen; “I’m satisfied that we only use them when they’re needed”

Thad Allen Expresses Concerns Over Relief Well

Philip Bunnell - Talk Radio News Service

A temporary cap may now be in place, but National Incident Commander, Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said Friday that debris at the bottom of a relief well could delay the planned ‘static kill’ to shut off the Deepwater Horizon well once and for all.

Allen reiterated his and BP’s cleanup crews determination to “see this thing through to the finish,” and that he would work with local authorities to determine the standards that crews will work under when cleaning up beaches affected by the Gulf oil spill.

However, the debris, which found its way into the bottom of the relief well due to storms, has Allen cautious.  “The greatest concern to us right now is the relief well,” he said. Only once the debris is cleared, “that’s when we can truly end this threat to the environment in the Gulf.”

The debris could push back the date officials want to conduct the static kill to Monday or Tuesday, said Allen.