BP is expected to start the delicate task of removing the current loose cap atop its runaway gulf well today and replacing it with a firm one that could capture almost all the oil and gas gushing out.
Before any permanent capping can occur, the uncapped well will once again spew its contents into the gulf in greatly increased amounts for as many as four days. By then, officials said, the new containment cap should be in place and directing the oil to ships waiting on the surface.
National Incident Commander Thad Allen said Friday that a detailed timeline for the delicate maneuvers required to make the switches had been submitted by BP in the late afternoon and was expected to be approved in the evening.
“If we approve the timeline, we would start tomorrow to remove the current cap and to start the sequence of events,” he said.
The document, with extensive backup plans and explanations of how and when key decisions will be made, was required by the administration.
Earlier in the day, Allen said BP was going to take advantage of the calm seas predicted for the next week or more to aggressively attack the leak.
“We think this weather window presents a significant opportunity for us to accelerate the process of capping — shutting down — the well from the top and increasing the prospects for being able to kill the well from below through the relief wells,” Allen said.
Although uncapping the leak will release a heavy flow of oil and gas, Allen said, the effects should be reduced by the simultaneous connecting of a new collecting vessel to a different section of the damaged well head. The process of hooking up the Helix Producer began Friday and is expected to be completed Sunday, allowing it to then begin collecting some or perhaps all of the additional oil being released.
