This just in from the Associated Press:
Published: Wednesday, July 14, 2010 at 2:43 p.m.
NEW ORLEANS — BP’s work to cap its Gulf of Mexico gusher was in limbo Wednesday after the federal government raised concerns the operation could put damaging pressure on the busted well and make the leak worse.
An administration official, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the talks with BP, said the government was acting out of an “abundance of caution” and didn’t want potentially dangerous pressure tests on a tighter cap that has been placed over the well to go ahead until BP answers questions about possible risks.
A top BP executive said there was no guarantee the cap, a temporary measure, will be put to use.
Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles told The Associated Press in an interview that BP is trying to resolve the government’s concerns.
“I don’t know whether we will get that approval or not,” Suttles said. “I hope we do.”
At the same time, BP on its own temporarily halted the drilling of two relief wells that are designed to plug the gusher permanently from underground. That work was halted for up to 48 hours as a precaution because it’s not yet clear what effect the testing of the new cap could have on it, the company said.
The delays were a stunning setback after the oil giant finally seemed to be on track following nearly three months of failed attempts to stop the spill, which has sullied beaches from Florida to Texas and decimated the multibillion dollar fishing industry.
BP had zipped through weekend preparations and gotten the 75-ton cap in place Monday atop the well. The plan was to stop the oil and pump excess to ships, raising hopes the gusher could be checked. BP was getting ready to test pressure on the well by closing valves in the cap when the government intervened late Tuesday.
Word of the delay broke as video showed BP’s undersea robots busily swarming around the seafloor site. Suttles said the government wants to verify that the casing, or the piping in the well, is intact and that the oil would stay contained if BP shuts the well in.
Suttles said the next step would depend on the outcome of a meeting of BP and government officials early Wednesday afternoon.
The administration official said Energy Secretary Steven Chu, U.S. Geological Survey chief Marcia McNutt and other government scientists met with BP Tuesday in Houston and had a number of questions about the plan to test the integrity of the well. Chu and other officials want to ensure that putting downward pressure on the well will not cause further leaks, the official said.
“Our basic position was, if you can give us the answers we need … then go ahead,” the official said. Until then, “they can’t go forward.”
The official said the government still hopes the cap can be closed to shut in the oil. Oil continued to spew nearly unimpeded into the water, with no clear timeline on when it would stop. BP shares were down more than 2 percent in afternoon trading in London after recouping some of their oil spill losses earlier this week, when the cap project seemed to be moving ahead.
I simply renew my question from previous television interviews and posts: who’s in charge of this disaster, the leaking well? Is it BP or is it a committee of scientists and political appointees from the Obama Administration?
The reason I renew the question is, what additional data or information does the government have that BP doesn’t have? Is BP in charge or closing off this well, or is the government? BP has done an excellent job – for once – in terms of the PR by not attacking the government’s delay of the capping and pressure tests.
But, we must all recognize now, that any further delay in the pressure testing and capping of the well belongs to the government, not BP.
Imagine you’re in the midst of a crisis, trying to get as much done as possible under horrendous circumstances and tremendous costs, and once you have a plan of action and you’re ready to move forward, a government committee steps in and tells you to wait, because they have “questions.”
This has now become insanity.
When you decide to scream at BP for the oil spill, which you can rightly do, also scream at your government, and it’s committee of scientists, who just again delayed the next attempt to seal this well.
