Starting from mid June, Congress made multiple requests to BP to explain condition of the leaking well and provide facts about possible oil leak into rock formation surrounding the wellbore (read letters here).
All along since the Macondo Well ruptured on April 20 in the Gulf of Mexico, BP was designing a well cap from “scratch” with two objectives in mind: 1) to contain all leaking oil and 2) to have possibility to shut-in the well. As we learned from Congress, Steven Chu, Admiral Thad Allen and independent sources BP knew about sea floor oil leaks they discovered during Top Kill operation, but was not forthcoming about oil sipping from sea floor.
It is not surprising after Top Kill procedure BP’s press briefings did not mentioned anything about designing an impermeable well cap. The first week of July BP installed mini Blowout Preventer, a cap with three RAM valves that serves dual purpose: to contain all leaking oil and to shut-in well if wellbore can hold oil reservoir pressure.
Admiral Thad Allen said it took so long to design this cap because BP had to manufacture and test this specially designed cap from scratch.
Kent Wells of BP mentioned in one of BP’s briefings that Macondo well will be considered intact, or unbroken, if wellbore can hold 8,000 – 9,000 psi pressure during well integrity test. If pressure is found significantly lower than 8,000 psi that would imply oil sips into surrounding rock formation. Oil leaking into rock formation poses a great risk of sea bed erosion and all measures are taken to avoid such outcome.
Congress Letters to BP, source link:
http://globalwarming.house.gov/files/LTTR/2010-06-13_BPWellIntegrityFollowup.pdf
BP is literally banking on our “gnat-sized” attention spans and our understandable crisis fatigue to let them get away virtually scot free from any responsibility, whether financial or moral, for this massive, man made disaster. They continue to inhibit the flow of accurate information about what has and what is currently happening in the Gulf, they continue to destroy and hide evidence of their culpability, buying scientists, lawyers and politicians, even reporters. Media outlets want us to believe that the oil is largely gone or missing somehow. It may not be as visible now in some areas, but it is there continuing to suck oxygen from the water, causing huge “dead zones” — worse, the toxic dispersants used, largely against recommendations, are there too, making the oil even more dangerous. Please do not buy the media line and assume that soon the crisis will be past. Don’t let BP or Congress off the hook. They could be the only creatures on the hook in large portions of the gulf right now!