Setback Delays ‘Top Kill’ Effort to Seal Leaking Oil Well in Gulf

[saigon68]

Source: N.Y. Times

4:38 EST
By CLIFFORD KRAUSS, JOHN M. BRODER and LIZ ROBBINS
Published: May 27, 2010



HOUSTON — BP had to halt its ambitious effort to plug its stricken oil well in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday afternoon when engineers saw that too much of the drilling fluid they were injecting into the well was escaping along with the leaking crude oil.

A technician at the BP command center said that pumping of the fluid had to be stopped temporarily while engineers were revising their plans, and that the company hoped to resume pumping by midnight, if federal officials approved.

The technician, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters, said the problem was not seen as serious. “We’re still quite optimistic,” he said, but cautioned: “It is not assured and its not a done deal yet. All of this will require some time.”

The news of yet another delay in capping the well came on a day of rapid-fire developments from Louisiana to Washington.


Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/28/us/28spill.html?hp