BP plugs well with mud

Subject: BP plugs well with mud Wed Aug 04, 2010 3:11 pm

By HARRY R. WEBER and GREG BLUESTEIN
Associated Press Writers

ON THE GULF OF MEXICO (AP) — BP claimed a key victory Wednesday in the effort to plug its blown-out well as the government said much of the spilled oil is gone — though what’s left is still at least quadruple the amount that poured from the Exxon Valdez.

BP PLC reached what it called a significant milestone overnight when mud that was forced down the well held back the flow of crude. That means the procedure known as a “static kill” appears to be working, though crews now must decide whether to follow it up with cement.

Federal officials won’t declare complete victory until they pump in mud and then cement from the bottom of the well, and that won’t happen for several weeks.

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BP plugs well with mud 2010-012

Subject: Re: BP plugs well with mud Thu Aug 05, 2010 11:14 am

It appears there might finally be an end in sight to the disaster

BP PLC said 2,300 barrels of mud forced down the well overnight -- an operation called a "static kill" -- had pushed the crude back down to its source for the first time since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded off Louisiana on April 20. The explosion killed 11 workers

In the end, it was a crush of mud that finally plugged the blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico, three months after the offshore drilling rig explosion