BP to start to choke off Gulf geyser

July 14, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS

In a potentially pivotal moment in the Gulf crisis, BP was preparing Tuesday to begin closing valves in a slow and methodical process that could finally choke off the geyser of crude at the bottom of the sea after three gloomy months and up to 180 million gallons spilled.

A new, tighter-fitting cap was lowered over the blown-out well Monday night, designed to be a temporary fix until the well is plugged underground.

The next phase was to shut the openings in the 75-ton metal stack of pipes and valves gradually, one at a time, while watching pressure gauges to see if the cap would hold or any new leaks erupted.

The operation could last anywhere from six to 48 hours. BP first targeted a midday-Tuesday start but later said that was overly optimistic and pushed expectations back.

BP and the government’s point man on the crisis — the biggest offshore oil spill in U.S. history and one of the nation’s worst environmental disasters — stressed there were no guarantees, and they urged patience from Gulf residents.

“They ought to be interested and concerned, but if they hold their breath, they’ll run out of oxygen,” retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen told The Associated Press.

If the cap works, it will enable BP to stop the oil from gushing into the sea, either by holding all the oil inside the well machinery like a stopper or, if the pressure is too great, channeling some though pipes to as many as four collection ships.

Along the Gulf Coast, where the spill has heavily damaged the region’s vital tourism and fishing industries, people anxiously awaited the outcome of the painstakingly slow work.

The cap is just a stopgap measure that can’t keep the oil in check for all time.

To end the leak for good, the well needs to be plugged at the source. BP is drilling two relief wells through the seafloor to reach the broken well, possibly by late July, and jam it permanently with heavy drilling mud and cement.

After that, the Gulf Coast faces a long cleanup.

In Washington, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the effort to put the containment cap into operation “represents the best news that we’ve had in the preceding 85 days.”