BP is estimating that the full top kill procedure, which involves pumping material into the leaking Gulf well to counteract the upward pressure of the gushing oil so that the well can be sealed, could extend for another 24-48 hours.
BP is estimating that the full top kill procedure, which involves pumping material into the leaking Gulf well to counteract the upward pressure of the gushing oil so that the well can be sealed, could extend for another 24 hours. That means we won't likely know if the effort has been successful till the weekend.
Media reports that the company had stopped the flow of oil yesterday were inaccurate, though it does appear that a good amount of the volume coming out of the well in the last 36 hours is drilling mud. On Thursday, BP officials created the perception that the strategy was working and did not disclose until late in the day that they had stopped pumping at midnight Wednesday when engineers realized too much of the drilling mud was escaping with the oil.
Already, the spill has eclipsed the Exxon Valdez as the worst in U.S. history.
Overnight workers pumped "junk shot," a mix of materials like golf balls and shredded tires, into the well, and more mud is being pumped today.
Admiral Thad Allen of the U.S. Coast Guard told Good Morning America today that the biggest challenge would be to sustain the top kill effort. If the well is successfully "killed," it is expected that cementing operations would follow, BP says. The top kill procedure has never before been attempted at these depths; experts give it a 60 to 70 percent chance of success.