BP Resumes Work to Kill Damaged Well With Cement

Oil sheen is seen with vessels assisting near the source of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Photographer: Mario Tama/Getty Images

July 26 (Bloomberg) -- Nick McGregor, an investment manager at Redmayne Bentley Stockbrokers, talks about the outlook for BP Plc's second-quarter results and the prospect of Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward being replaced. He speaks with Ryan Chilcote on Bloomberg Television's "Start Up." (Source: Bloomberg)

BP Plc returned to work onpermanently plugging the source of the largest oil spill in U.S.history after a storm threat eliminated an opportunity to sealthe Gulf of Mexico gusher more securely by the end of July.

The next effort, a so-called static kill that will pump mudand cement into the top of the Macondo well, will begin Aug. 2,National Incident Commander Thad Allen said today in aWashington press conference. Injections from the bottom toconfirm the well is permanently closed could begin five dayslater, he said.

The Macondo well spilled 2.31 million to 4.1 millionbarrels of oil, based on government estimates. It erupted April20 with a blast that destroyed the Deepwater Horizon rig,killing 11 crew. On July 15, BP shut the flow after installing a40-foot (12-meter) cap atop a damaged valve assembly.

“When this spill first started, it took about four to sixweeks for the oil to start impacting shore,” Allen said.“After we put the cap in place, we can expect for four to sixweeks after that or even longer, depending on the weatherconditions, for oil to continue to come ashore.”

BP will clean up oil from the spill whenever it’s found,Allen said. Chemical analysis can determine whether crude foundunderneath a beach months from now came from the well, he said.

Dispersants Not Used

The amount of skimmable oil is diminishing, according toU.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Paul Zukunft, the on-scenecoordinator. A monitoring program for undersea oil will be setup, he said on a conference call today.

Dispersants haven’t been used for more than one week andwon’t be used unless new oil is released, he said. The remainingoil is weathered to the point where it would be “inefficientand ineffective” to use them, he said.

This week, BP expects to complete the final 2,000 feet ofcement casing for the relief well that will kill Macondopermanently, Allen said. The company will then begin drillingthe final 200 feet of an intercept course with the damaged well,he said.

On Aug. 2, BP will start trying to fill the well with mud,followed by cement, through the blowout preventer, the stack ofvalves that failed the night the well exploded, Allen said. Thegoal will be to fill the entire well with cement, he said.

A previous effort in May failed when the gusher ejected mudand rubber scraps intended to plug it. BP expects better resultsnow that it has stanched the flow, Allen said.

Dudley as Successor

BP plans to appoint Robert Dudley, director of BP’s oil-spill response unit, to succeed Tony Hayward, 53, as chiefexecutive officer, two people with knowledge of the matter saidyesterday.

Dudley, 54, is ready to be announced as the company’s firstAmerican chief tomorrow and to take the helm Oct. 1, one of thepeople said, asking not to be identified because a finaldecision hasn’t yet been made.

The decision was reached in discussions with board membersabout how best to take BP forward and rebuild its U.S. position,the person said. The BP board meets today to “rubber stamp”the plan, the second person said.

“No final decision has been made” on management changes,the company said today in a statement. The board will meettonight before tomorrow’s scheduled release of quarterlyfinancial results.

BP rose 18.35 pence, or 4.6 percent, to 416.95 pence at4:35 p.m. today in London. It was the highest closing pricesince June 7.