BP Sees Progress in Bid to Increase Gulf-Oil Capture

[Right Lane Cruiser]

The process of switching caps temporarily allows for more oil to leak from the well.

Katarzyna Klimasinska - BUSINESSWEEK - July 11, 2010

When are those relief wells going to become active?? --Ed.

BP Plc made progress overnight in the effort to install a new cap that would capture all of the oil leaking from its Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico.

BP unbolted a flange from the top of the leaking well, a precursor to attaching the new cap sometime in the next week, Senior Vice President Kent Wells said today. The London-based company also plans to begin collecting some of the leaking oil aboard the Helix Producer I vessel later today, he said.

“We had a productive night,” Wells told reporters during a conference call. “We’re pleased with our progress.”

Replacing the cap and attaching the Helix Producer I may increase the oil-collecting capacity to as much as 80,000 barrels a day. A government-led panel of scientists has estimated the well is leaking 35,000 barrels to 60,000 barrels a day.

BP diverted 15,200 barrels from the well to surface ships yesterday, according to a posting on its website. The company has captured more than... [Read More]

[Butterfly Mage]

It's too late to make a difference now. The Gulf is dead and it will take centuries to recover -- if it ever does recover.