And Now We Wait!
The critical time period, of 48 hours of observation, has expired on BP’s corked well. The problem is, no one seems to know, if the geyser is stopped, for good.
The government, has added another day of critical monitoring, being cautiously optimistic. Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, stated that the oil giant, was initially given 48 hours, to see whether its latest effort to stop the leak, was working. The cap, has been holding up, with no signs of oil spewing into the Gulf. However, Allen made the call to extend the trial run, less than two hours, after the period ended Saturday afternoon.
Scientists and engineers, are optimistic, that the well, is showing no obvious signs of any leaks. However, they are still struggling, to understand pressure readings emerging form the bottom of the Gulf sea floor. They feel, the pressure readings are lower, than they would like to see.
“When this test is eventually stopped, the cap will be reopened, and crews will return to containing the spill, by siphoning the oil to the surface, for collection by ships,” Allen said. That could mean that, crude will likely be released, back into the water temporarily, to relive pressure build up. It will not, be leaking at the rate it was, before the fix, last Thursday.
Progress is still continuing, slightly ahead of schedule, on what federal officials say is the ultimate step in stopping the leak for good — the two relief wells, the federal government has required BP to drill. So far, the news has been encouraging, in the fact that, the well has been able to withstand the pressure, since the cap has been in place.
The possibility, of a new breach underground, has been a major concern going into the testing of the cap, because oil breaking out of pipes in the bedrock, would be harder to control, and could endanger plans for a permanent plug.
Last Thursday, BP shut valves in the cap, stopping the flow of oil, for the first time since the April 20, explosion. The BP-leased oil rig, Deepwater Horizon,(Macondo Well) explosion, killed 11 workers, and unleashed the spill 5,000 feet below the sea, making this the worst ecological disaster, in U.S. history.
The cap, currently is working like a giant cork, as scientists keep watch for any buildup of pressure underground, that could cause new leaks. Pressure readings, after 41 hours were 6,745 pounds per square inch, and rising slowly but, below the 7,500 psi, that would have reassured scientists, that the well is not leaking. Pressure continues to rise, by around 2 psi per hour, as compared to a range between 2 and 10 psi, BP and the government provided, as information, late Friday. A low pressure reading, or a falling one, could mean the oil is escaping.
In the clean-up effort, it has been decided that, ‘A Whale’ is NOT, ideally suited to the needs of this response,” Coast Guard Rear Adm. Paul Zunkunft, a federal on-scene coordinator, said in a statement, late Friday. The vessel will NOT, be deployed as a part of the Deepwater Horizon, oil spill response. While it’s size is impressive, at 1,115-feet, “A Whale,” an ore and oil carrier, refitted for skimming, was sent by TMT Shipping Offshore, to help clean up the oil gushing, since April 20, from BP ‘s blown-out Macondo well.
It will take months, possibly even years, for the Gulf to recover. But, there were signs that people were trying to get life, back to normal, this weekend.
People were fishing again, off piers and in boats, after most of the recreational waters in Louisiana, were reopened late last week. However,more than a third of federal waters, are still closed, and off-limits to commercial fishermen.
Though, it has been only days since the oil, has been turned off, the naked eye could spot, subtle signs of improvement, on the water. The crude, appeared to be dissipating quickly, on the surface of the Gulf around, and near the Deepwater Horizon site.
Members of a Coast Guard, crew flew over the wellhead Saturday, and said, “far less oil, was visible than just a day earlier. Only, a colorful sheen and a few long streams of rust-colored, weathered oil, were apparent in an area, that has been, covered for weeks, by huge patches of black crude”. To date, between 94 million and 184 million gallons, of crude oil, have spilled into the Gulf, according to government estimates.
