Energy giant BP was expected to begin a new effort yesterday to contain the Gulf of Mexico oil spill by placing a better cap over the gushing well in the hope of stopping the flow of oil completely. Admiral Thad Allen, who oversees the government’s spill response, said late on Friday that he had approved the plan to simultaneously install the Helix Producer and “capping stack” containment mechanisms over the well.
However, the operation will require temporary suspension of the current top hat containment system. That means about 15,000 barrels of oil a day that had been collected through the old capping system will spew directly into the Gulf until the new cap is in place.
“I validated this plan because the capacity for oil containment when these installations are complete will be far greater than the capabilities we have achieved using current systems,” Allen said.
He said favorable weather was expected in the spill area over the coming days, which “will provide the working conditions necessary for these transitions to be successfully completed without delays.”
The transition to this new containment infrastructure could begin in the next days, but will take seven to 10 days to complete, the admiral said. If successful, the new cap could capture all of the crude spilling into the Gulf and allow it to be siphoned up to container vessels on the surface, in effect halting the devastating spill of crude into the sea that has imperiled fragile coastlines and wildlife across the Gulf Coast.
The operation is the latest attempt to contain the spill that was sparked by the April 20 explosion aboard the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon oil rig.
Meanwhile, BP said in a letter to Allen that it wanted to move forward with its plan.
BP managing director Bob Dudley said the company wanted to take advantage of forecast good weather to place a more effective cap over the leak and hook up the new containment ship, the Helix Producer.
Under a timeline released by BP, the relief well that would permanently seal the leak would be completed by Aug. 13.
Earlier, Allen said he was optimistic about a fix soon for the environmental disaster.
“We have a significant chance to dramatically reduce the oil that’s being released into the environment and maybe shut the well altogether in the next week,” he told CNN on Friday.
The White House has pushed for the new containment device because its superior seal is expected to capture the entire leak and is better equipped to deal with a hurricane threat in the storm-prone Gulf.
Crews have already seen clean-up and containment operations hampered by bad weather and with an active storm season predicted, officials are busy developing contingencies.
The new system will use “quick-disconnect couplings” allowing container ships to shut down operations and exit the area quickly in the face of a hurricane, Allen said.
The news comes just after US President Barack Obama’s administration lost a bid to lift a stay of its six-month freeze on deepwater drilling in the Gulf.
Current government estimates of the spill range from between 35,000 to 60,000 barrels a day, based on interpretation of a live video feed of the leak.
An estimated 2 million to 4 million barrels of oil have gushed into the Gulf waters since the spill began, and a permanent solution is not expected until one of two relief wells is completed.
Oil has now washed up on beaches in all five Gulf states — Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida — forcing the closure of fishing grounds and threatening scores of coastal communities with financial ruin.
The spill prompted the Obama administration to order a moratorium on deepwater drilling, but the freeze was overturned by a federal court last month and an appeals court upheld that ruling on Thursday.
Also See: Arctic oil drilling plan condemned
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is to tighten rules for candidates running for public office, requiring them to declare that they do not hold a Chinese household registration or passport, and that they possess no other foreign citizenship. The requirement was set out in a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法 ) released by the ministry on Thursday. Under the proposal, candidates would need to make the declaration when submitting their registration forms, which would be published in the official election bulletin. The move follows the removal of several elected officials who were
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
FOUR DESIGNATED AREAS: Notices were issued for live-fire exercises in waters south and northwest of Penghu, northeast of Keelung and west of Kaohsiung, they said The military is planning three major annual exercises across the army, navy and air force this month, with the navy’s “Hai Chiang” (海強, “Sea Strong”) drills running from today through Thursday, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The Hai Chiang exercise, which is to take place in waters surrounding Taiwan, would feature P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and S-70C anti-submarine helicopters, the ministry said, adding that the drills aim to bolster the nation’s offshore defensive capabilities. China has intensified military and psychological pressure against Taiwan, repeatedly sending warplanes and vessels into areas near the nation’s air defense identification zone and across
COVETED PRIZE: The US president would be a peace prize laureate should he persuade Xi Jinping to abandon military aggression against Taiwan, William Lai said US President Donald Trump should get the Nobel Peace Prize should he be able to convince Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to abandon the use of force against Taiwan, President William Lai (賴清德) told a conservative US radio show and podcast in an interview. The US is Taiwan’s most important international backer, despite the absence of formal ties, but since Trump took office earlier this year he has not announced any new arms sales to the nation. Trump could meet Xi at the APEC summit in South Korea on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. Lai, speaking on The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton
RSS