More on top kill, which has been successful, but unproven at 5,000 feet, at Rigzone.
The top kill effort could start tomorrow, or not, and it could take two days. BP has been prepping for top kill since the beginning.
"We have been designing "top kill" from day one," but it has taken this long to properly design the procedure, said Kent Wells, BP's senior vice president of exploration and production, in a conference call. BP executives previously warned this procedure has never been tried at depths so great, adding there is a 60% to 70% chance of success.
Wells said the vessels and equipment for the procedure are now in place but that "we are in the final states of pressure testing it." This diagnostic testing can take another 12 to 24 hours and if it is deemed safe the actual top-kill procedure will take anywhere from half a day to a couple of days to complete, he said.
The integrated oil company plans to pump heavy drilling mud into the well in the hope that the pressure will cause the well to go "static," said Wells.
This "top-kill" procedure has proven successful around the world "but it hasn't been done at 5,000 feet," he said. WSJ
