BP: Spill effort going as planned

May 27, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Associated Press

COVINGTON, La.

BP started pumping heavy mud into the leaking Gulf of Mexico well Wednesday and said everything was going as planned in the company’s boldest attempt yet to plug the gusher that has spewed millions of gallons of oil over the last five weeks.

BP hoped the mud could overpower the steady stream of oil, but chief executive Tony Hayward said it would be at least 24 hours before officials know whether the attempt has been successful. The company wants to eventually inject cement into the well to seal it.

“I’m sure many of you have been watching the plume,” Hayward said from Houston. “All I can say is it is unlikely to give us any real indication of what is going on. Either increases or decreases are not an indicator of either success or failure at this time.”

The stakes are high. Fishermen, hotel and restaurant owners, politicians and residents along the coast are fed up with BP’s so far ineffective attempts to stop the oil leak that sprang after an offshore drilling rig exploded April 20. Eleven workers were killed, and by the most conservative estimate, 7 million gallons of crude have spilled into the Gulf, fouling Louisiana’s marshes and coating birds and other wildlife.

“We’re doing everything we can to bring it to closure, and actually we’re executing this top kill job as efficiently and effectively as we can,” BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles said Wednesday night.

The top kill has worked above ground but has never before been tried 5,000 feet beneath the sea. Company officials peg its chance of success at 60 to 70 percent.

President Barack Obama said “there’s no guarantees” it will work. The president planned a trip to Louisiana on Friday.

“We’re going to bring every resource necessary to put a stop to this thing,” he said.

Meanwhile, dozens of witness statements obtained by The Associated Press show a combination of equipment failure and a deference to the chain of command impeded the system that should have stopped the gusher before it became an environmental disaster.

A live video stream Wednesday showed pictures of the blowout preventer, as well as the oil gushing out. At other times, the feed showed mud spewing out, but BP said this was not cause for alarm.

A weak spot in the blowout preventer could blow under the pressure, causing a brand new leak.