'So far so good' for oil leak tests
Evening Standard., 17.07.10Beleaguered BP is set to find out if its cap over the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico is strong enough to last.
The firm will complete examinations after temporarily stopping the flow of oil off the coast of America.The test will see whether the steel casing of the cap is sufficiently strong for the well to be shut off in the long term.
the steel casing of the cap
BP has already stressed that even if the test proves successful it will not mean the flow of oil and gas has been stopped permanently.The spill is likely to be high on the agenda when Prime Minister David Cameron makes his first official visit to Washington next week for talks with US President Barack Obama.
Mr Obama has said BP's breakthrough is "good news", but warned there is still work to do.
And the president said efforts would not stop until the leak - the worst in US history - is permanently stopped, insisting: "We won't be done until we know we have killed the well and have a permanent structure in place."
On Friday night, halfway through a critical 48-hour window in examinations of the cap, the signs were promising.
BP vice-president Kent Wells said engineers had found no indication that the well has started leaking underground.
"No news is good news, I guess that's how I'd say it," he said.
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