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Wednesday, May 26, 2010

News BP Is Attempting the Top Kill

Posted by on Wed, May 26, 2010 at 1:23 PM

From NYTimes.com

HOUSTON — BP went ahead on Wednesday afternoon with its most ambitious — and potentially most consequential — effort to plug the mile-deep gusher of oil that has been streaming into the Gulf of Mexico for more than a month.

The procedure, known as a top kill, began at 1 p.m., the company said.

It involves pumping thousands of pounds of heavy fluids into a five-story stack of pipes in an effort to clog the well and stop the torrent of oil. BP officials said this method of containing spills had never been tried so far underwater, and that it could take days to determine whether it had succeeded. They cautioned there was no guarantee that the gambit would work.

Here is a live feed (.wmv) from remotely operated vehicles, which is pretty worthless at the moment. CEO Tony Hayward said it “a day or two before we can have certainty that it’s worked," but evidence of failure could arrive much sooner.

 

Comments (7) RSS

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spoiler alert 1
kill, baby, kill!
Posted by spoiler alert on May 26, 2010 at 1:33 PM
Max Solomon 2
i hope it works, but they'd better be drilling the relief well already.
Posted by Max Solomon on May 26, 2010 at 1:50 PM
Cato the Younger Younger 3
I hope this works even though we haven't learned the lesson of what fossil fuels really cost.

But hey, fuck the next generation! It's all about ME!!!
Posted by Cato the Younger Younger on May 26, 2010 at 1:58 PM
4
I am so grateful that Obama is on top of this.
Posted by DAY 36 on May 26, 2010 at 2:11 PM
Free Lunch 5
So if the top-kill works, there'll be no need for the relief wells, and BP gets no more oil; if it fails, the relief wells will go in, and BP will continue to reap oil from this site.

Gee. I wonder what will happen.
Posted by Free Lunch on May 26, 2010 at 4:38 PM
Jubilation T. Cornball 6
All this talk of top kill has me nervous. There are precious few of us here in town, anyway. Can't we mow down a few dozen bottoms? You know, cull the herd?
Posted by Jubilation T. Cornball on May 26, 2010 at 6:37 PM
Telsa Grills 7
@6: You seem to have conveniently excluded how we have a well-established saying which really hurts others: does "kill the switch" ring a bell?

It's chilling to hear, not unlike "kill the wabbit."
Posted by Telsa Grills on May 27, 2010 at 7:35 AM

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