PART ONE… http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/07/12/gulf.oil.disaster/index.html?hpt=T1&iref=BN… Containment cap on BP well appears to be in place By the CNN Wire Staff July 12, 2010 7:56 p.m. EDT An underwater camera captures efforts to put a new sealing cap on the breached well. STORY HIGHLIGHTS * NEW: BP appears to have placed a new containment cap on well in Gulf * Sen. Landrieu calls new deepwater drilling ban “economic disaster for Gulf Coast” * Ship Helix Producer begins recovering oil from crippled well New Orleans, Louisiana (CNN) — BP appears to have placed a new containment cap on its well in the Gulf of Mexico that's been leaking oil since an explosion and fire April 20. BP hopes the new cap will be able to completely contain the gushing oil, but tests are still needed to determine its effectiveness. Earlier Monday, the U.S. Interior Department said Monday it was issuing a new moratorium order in a second effort to block deepwater oil and natural gas projects. The new moratorium is to “protect communities, coasts, and wildlife” while oil and gas companies implement safety measures to reduce the risks of blowouts and oil spills associated with deepwater drilling, the government said. The ban will be in effect through November 30, 2010, or until Interior Secretary Ken Salazar determines that deepwater drilling operations can proceed safely. “More than eighty days into the BP oil spill, a pause on deepwater drilling is essential and appropriate to protect communities, coasts, and wildlife from the risks that deepwater drilling currently pose,” Salazar said in a statement. “I am basing my decision on evidence that grows every day of the industry's inability in the deepwater to contain a catastrophic blowout, respond to an oil spill, and to operate safely.” He added, “I remain open to modifying the new deepwater drilling suspensions based on new information.” But Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana called the moratorium “unnecessary, ill-conceived and a second economic disaster for the Gulf Coast.” She spoke before a presidential commission, tasked with reviewing the response to the oil spill and the priorities going forward. Landrieu called the BP oil spill the “exception instead of the rule” and said the deepwater drilling moratorium will kill jobs. The National Oil Spill Commission is holding meetings in New Orleans Monday and Tuesday. Shallow water drilling activities can continue to move forward, under the Interior Department's order, if operators comply with all safety and environmental requirements. The department said that's because they don't present the same type or level of risks that deepwater drilling operations can, it said. A previous six-month ban issued in the wake of the Gulf oil disaster was thrown out by a federal judge in New Orleans. Last week, a federal appeals panel rejected the government's request to overturn the lower court judge's decision. Like the initial drilling ban, the new moratorium probably also will face stiff opposition from commercial interests in the Gulf region. Michael Hecht, president and chief executive officer of the economic development group Greater New Orleans Inc., told the the National Oil Spill Commission, “Economically speaking, the BP oil spill is really a tale of two impacts: it's the impact of the oil spill itself and the impact from the moratorium on deepwater drilling.” The commission is a presidential panel tasked with investigating the Gulf oil gusher and making recommendations about the future of offshore drilling, What's next New containment cap that has a better fit appears to have been placed over the well. BP and U.S. officials will conduct a “well integrity test” to determine the pressure inside the well. If it works, oil will stop flowing and oil collection via Q4000 and Helix Producer will cease. BP will then close in on the perforated pipe. This process, which is still a temporary measure, might take up to 48 hours. The first relief well BP plans to use to shut down the well is 5 feet away from the main well and 30 feet above the hoped-for intersection point. The ban would prevent further deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico until officials determine what went wrong in the April 20 explosion and fire at an oil rig that led to oil gushing into the ocean 5,000 feet below the surface. A new sealing cap could cover the breached well as early as Monday, the man in charge of the federal response team told CNN's “American Morning.” Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said Monday that once the cap is placed on the well, scientists will be able to gauge the pressure inside the well, then determine whether the cap is holding the oil in or if crews will need to continue siphoning up oil. Crews were going through final checks Monday afternoon before installing the cap. Once it's installed, the next critical step is making sure there's no hydrate buildup, according to BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles. He said testing the well's integrity could begin Tuesday, with a monitoring period that could take anywhere from six hours to two days. While robots replace the old cap, crude is leaking out. Scientists estimate that 35,000 to 60,000 barrels of oil are spewing daily from BP's breached well. But now, more of that gushing oil is being collected, Suttles added. He said the oil-gathering ship, the Helix Producer, began recovering oil from the ruptured well Monday. He said it should “ramp up to full capacity” in several days after two setbacks Sunday delayed its implementation. CONTINUED… added by: EthicalVegan
