Final Sealing of Gulf Well Is Delayed Again
"A long section of drill pipe that engineers thought would be hanging from the original blowout preventer is instead down inside the well, Admiral Allen said, and technicians will try to remove at least some of it, a procedure known as fishing. He said that the earliest the final sealing operation could begin would be Tuesday, and that it would take about a week.
With the installation last week of a new blowout preventer having eliminated any threat of further leaks, there is no urgency in sealing the well permanently, Admiral Allen said. He said BP engineers, in consultation with government scientists, were now considering pumping more cement into the space between the well casing and surrounding rock in two ways: through a relief well as originally planned and through the existing well by punching holes in the casing."
