Indiana Grain Company, LLC

Posted: 07/15/10

By: tomgrisafi

After three months of nearly unimpeded flow of crude oil into the Gulf, BP’s Deepwater Horizon well has at last been capped. This comes as good news to Gulf residents who have suffered the devastation of their beaches and local economy since the offshore drilling rig exploded on April 20.

BP PLC vice president Kent Wells, said at a news briefing that the oil stopped flowing into the Gulf at 2:25 p.m. CDT. "I am very pleased that there's no oil going into the Gulf of Mexico. In fact, I'm really excited there's no oil going into the Gulf of Mexico," Wells said.

The oil giant and Gulf coast residents are holding their breaths, hopeful that the new cap will hold and that the pressure will not build to the point where a new rupture can blow a new leak in the well.

Pressure readings will be taken over the next 48 hours and engineers will be monitoring pressure gauges, during which time they will plan out their next moves to achieve a permanent fix.

BP is continues to drill two relief wells in the hope that they can pump mud and cement into the broken well pipe, in the hope that they can stop the undersea gusher. That project will not be complete until mid August at the earliest.

If the new 75 ton containment cap holds, BP can breathe a small sigh of relief. The company has not only been under pressure from Gulf residents and environmental groups unhappy with the severe damage the spill has caused in the region, but faces a criminal investigation of the blast which killed 11 workers on April 20 and which has dumped between 93 million to 184 million gallons of toxic crude into the Gulf, according to federal estimates.

On Wednesday, a Congressional committee approved an amendment to an energy bill which if passed by both houses of Congress and signed by President Obama, would prevent BP from obtaining any new permits to drill offshore for seven years.