BP is now saying it hopes to cap its gushing oil well by July 27, the Wall Street Journal first reported Wednesday. BP is now saying it hopes to cap its gushing oil well by July 27, The Wall Street Journal first reported Wednesday.
"In a perfect world with no interruptions, it's possible to be ready to stop the well between July 20 and July 27," said the head of BP's Gulf Coast restoration unit, managing director Bob Dudley, in an interview. He added that this "perfect case" is threatened by the hurricane season and is "unlikely."
On Wednesday, on a visit to the Discoverer Enterprise, the ship that's collecting oil from the well, Mr. Dudley got word of a nine-day period of clear weather starting Friday, a period that could prove critical to the effort.
July 27 would be several weeks before the deadline the company previously set. That is also the day the company is expected to report second-quarter earnings. The WSJ also reports that BP wants to show progress by July 20, the day U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron is scheduled to visit the White House.
At the same time it is undertaking the difficult and technical relief well system, which is by no means a slam dunk, BP is putting in place a series of backup plans in case the wells don't work. Backup plans have been pushed by the U.S. government, which has called for a "backup to the backup plan."
Read the story here and view the WSJ's graphic of how the relief well system should work here.
