Jul 15: Breaking News: At 4:00 PM EDT BP was reporting that the valves associated with the pressure testing had been closed and that the flow of oil to the Gulf had temporarily been suspended.
At 10 AM EDT today BP reported that it would issue a press release at the commencement of the well integrity test which was expected to begin soon. The test was delayed yesterday due to concerns raised by Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Chu and his team of scientific and industry experts. BP indicated that in preparation for commencement of the well integrity test, yesterday the middle ram was closed and a leak detected in the choke line of the 3 ram stack. Overnight the choke hub was replaced and the new "three ram capping stack" is believed to be ready to being the pressure testing within the wellbore.
The Helix Producer and the Q4000 were both re-started late last night and continue to recover oil and gas; they will be suspended prior to commencement of the well integrity test. For the last 12 hours on July 14 (noon to midnight), approximately 2,040 barrels of oil were collected and approximately 1,230 barrels of oil and 7.4 million cubic feet of natural gas were flared. On July 14, total oil recovered was approx. 12,840 barrels 7,680 barrels of oil were collected (5,160 barrels of oil were flared; and 30.7 million cubic feet of natural gas were flared).
On July 14, President Obama received an update by phone from Secretaries Chu, Napolitano and Salazar as well as Administrator Jackson, National Incident Commander Allen and Carol Browner on the oil spill response efforts. According to a White House release, Admiral Allen and the federal science team, under the leadership of Energy Secretary Chu, directed BP to temporarily delay the well integrity tests until concerns from the scientific community were addressed and adequate assurances were provided that there would be no irreparable harm to the well bore as a result of the testing procedures. Based on new information and analysis, Secretary Chu and other scientists concluded that the test should now proceed with several modifications and safety requirements. Admiral Allen will be issuing a new directive to BP for the test. The directive will require additional seismic testing and monitoring from ROV's as well as acoustic and temperature monitoring throughout the duration of the well integrity test. The test will take up to 48 hours and will include periodic assessments in 6-hour increments.
Test procedures will begin tonight (July 14), starting with the disconnection of both the Q4000 and the Helix Producer. In order to accommodate additional oil which will enter the Gulf environment during the test, over 40 ocean skimmers and other assets have been positioned around the wellhead. Upon completion of the tests, the Federal government will possess valuable data regarding both the condition of the well -- important when action is taken to ultimately kill the well with the relief well efforts -- as well as an understanding of our capacity to shut the well in for brief periods if needed to prepare for a hurricane. As soon as the tests conclude, containment efforts will resume with the new capping stack and other equipment, with the potential to capture up to 80,000 barrels per day.
Access a release from the White House (click here). Access further updates from the BP website (click here). Access the new RestoreTheGulf website for links to the latest Unified Command updates and more (click here).
