BP (NYSE:BP) Role Over for Thad Allen

Former U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen and government point man Thad Allen has stepped down from his role of overseeing the operations to kill the leaking BP (NYSE:BP) Macondo oil well in the Gulf of Mexico.

That reaffirms that one stage of the process is over and a new one already begun. Now the claims and legal process is taking center stage, as BP continues to divest of assets to raise the necessary capital to pay for its liabilities.

Taking over as the new National Incident Commander is Rear Admiral Paul Zukunft, who is overseeing the remaining cleanup efforts.

Today Allen joins the RAND Corp. as a senior fellow. The accident on April 20 delayed Allen joining the research organization prior to this, as he was called on to manage the disaster, watching over BP and its actions.

It has been about two weeks since the formerly leaking oil well was officially declared dead.

BP (NYSE:BP) Oil Spill Response Cut in Half by Government

Government workers now responding to the BP (NYSE:BP) Gulf oil spill have been cut almost in half, dropping from 48,000 right before the temporary cap sealed the well on July 15, now standing at close to 25,000.

With the command center in New Orleans the long-term station to oversee the operations, former centers in Mobile, Alambama and Houma, Louisiana have been shut down, with workers to be consolidated in the Big Easy.

Replacing government point man Thad Allen at the command center will be Coast Guard Rear Admiral Paul Zukunft.

Approximately 600 miles of coastline in the region are allegedly still affected by the oil spill, said Zukunft.

BP (NYSE:BP) Bottom Kill Should be Completed in Four Days

Approaching the targeted intersection point on the Macondo well, which should be reached today, BP (NYSE:BP) is only several days from implementing the final procedure called a "bottom kill," which will permanently seal the oil well.

According to National Incident Commander Thad Allen, the government point man, including when the intersection is made and tests are conducted, it should be about 4 days until the job is completed.

After the testing is finished, an injection of cement and mud will be sent to the bottom of the well to block the oil and gas lying beneath it.

While this is largely a foregone conclusion, it will be good for BP and the government to finally close this chapter of the drama in order to focus on the repercussions of the oil spill, which they of course have already began to do.

BP (NYSE:BP) Permanent "Bottom Kill" Procedure Resumes

Quickly reversing directions on holding off on the bottom kill procedure in order to inject more mud and cement into the top of the oil well, government point man Thad Allen said they'll bypass that procedure, as it could have extended operations into October.

Concerns over the pressure spikes was behind the original decision, but they will instead install a locking sleeve on top of the well, which will provide similar protection.

Consequently BP (NYSE:BP) has resumed the drilling of the relief well which will intersect the main well in order to permanently seal Macondo.

As of Friday the relief well was 50 feet from the place of intersection of the Macondo well, and Allen said it would probably take several days to reach the destination, and another several days to fill it with cement and mud.

So by next weekend, or a little after, the job should be completed.

Thad Allen Tells BP (NYSE:BP) to Check Seals on Oil Well

On a conference call today, National Incident Commander Thad Allen said he has ordered BP (NYSE:BP) to check the seals on the Macondo oil well in the Gulf.

Allen said what he is looking for is whether or not the seals will be able to handle 1 million pounds of pressure.

If they can, it could speed up the process of permanently sealing the well, according to Allen.

He added if it is able to handle the pressure, they may not need to perform the recently-added task of pumping more cement into the top of the well, and may proceed with original plans to do just the "bottom kill."

BP (NYSE:BP) Well May Have to Wait Till October for Permanent Kill

In a conference call with reporters today, National Incident Commander Thad Allen said the government and BP (NYSE:BP) may have to extend the time to permanently kill the oil well until October.

The delay, if it happens, is the result of taking into consideration new steps to plug the Macondo well.

What is being thrown around is the idea of injecting more cement into the top of the well as part of the final process. The "bottom kill" already entails injecting mud and cement into the lower portion of the well to ensure a permanent plug.

Allen said, “We are in a little bit of a diagnostic phase right now to try to figure out what is the current status of the well.”

If the two-step process is implemented, it could start by September 18, or as late as September 28. The overall process will take about a week, which could bring it into October.

BP (NYSE:BP) Successfully Switches Blowout Preventer on Well

The failed blowout preventer on top of the BP (NYSE:BP) oil well has been been successfully removed and replaced by a new blowout preventer in preparation for the final steps of performing a "bottom kill," which will permanently seal the oil well.

BP removed the damaged blowout preventer on Friday and is bringing it slowly to the surface on its mile-long journey.

Government point man Thad Allen said there was no known release of oil into the Gulf during the exchange.

"During the period of time between the removal of the damaged BOP and installation of the replacement BOP, there was no observable release of hydrocarbons from the wellhead," Allen said.

The blowout preventer, which weighs in at 300 tons, is being slowly brought to the surface so no damage is caused to the device, as it's a key piece of evidence in the ongoing investigation into the causes of the accident.

Government officials will take possession of the blowout preventer once it reaches the surface, and will eventually examine it to find out why it failed to do its job.

BP (NYSE:BP) Has Begun Removing Drill Pipe

BP (NYSE:BP) has begun the process of removing the 3,500 feet of drilling pipe from the Gulf of Mexico. This could not start until the completion of an ambient pressure test. The test assured that no oil or gas would escape if the blowout preventer and sealing cap are removed from the top of the well.

Thad Allen, retired U.S. Coast Guard Admiral, told BP that they had to put together a plan to get out the blowout preventer. They had until Sunday to turn over the plans to the U.S. government. The question remains, how they will successfully remove the pipe while managing to keep the cap and blowout preventer in place and preventing damage.

U.S. officials said that it is necessary to replace the blowout preventer prior to the final "bottom kill" attempt because there are concerns that the sealing cap could come loose. If the cement and mud mixture is forced into the bottom of the well prematurely, it ultimately could blow the cap off all together and the trapped oil would leak into the Gulf.

BP (NYSE:BP) Oil Orders A New Blowout Preventer

BP (NYSE:BP) oil is bringing in a new blowout preventer for the well. The company is waiting to hear from U.S. officials for instructions on how to proceed. Thad Allen, National Incident Commander is the one who ordered the new piece.

U.S. officials put a halt to the bottom kill procedure. The primary concern is that the 1,000 barrels of oil currently trapped in the well could leak. The well was finally sealed July 15th, but not before spewing 4.9 million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf region.

Meanwhile, tests and talks continue between the Obama administration and BP. They have not yet decided how to move forward with the completion of the final 50 feet of the relief well. Allen said that the new blowout preventer will be replacing existing equipment. Although it's unclear whether it will be before or after the bottom kill.

BP (NYSE:BP) Ordered by Officials To Finish Relief Well

There has been much speculation, concern, and curiosity as to whether BP (NYSE:BP) is going to finish their relief well. Now it seems they don't have a choice, U.S. Officials have demanded the company finish it.

The reasoning of this order, was the failure of pressure testing that was done on the well. The tests failed to prove that there is no risk of oil leaking in the future, according to BP's Thad Allen, National Incident Commander. What is being determined now is how to proceed. The original plan, to pump cement and mud into the bottom of the well is now under scrutiny and may be abandoned all together.

The concern is that if the cement/mud mixture is injected into the bottom, there is a substantial risk that it could cause the seal to break and force oil out of the top. "How thick the cement barrier is between the annulus and the reservoir, we just don't know." said Allen "It might be very thin, and we go and put pressure on that and we have a problem."

The problem is a result of Allen's decision for BP to plug the well with cement from the top. According to some petroleum engineers, the better way would have been to leave the mud in place on top of the well and pump the cement in from the bottom. Rather then follow the mud with the cement on top like they did.

A retired petroleum engineer, Les Ply said "It would have been easier and safer to kill the well with the relief well. When it is cemented from the bottom, you can be assured the well is dead."

BP (NYSE:BP): "To Kill" or Not "To Kill"

With BP (NYSE:BP) being so close to reaching the relief well, they now have to stop drilling due to approaching storms. Thad Allen, retired Coast Guard Adm. said they are expecting a delay of two or three days in completing the relief well.

There has been no oil spilled since the placement of the temporary cap was placed on top of the well in mid July. The crews will put into place a temporary plug to protect what they've already drilled. They are only lacking another 30 feet until they'll be done. Workers won't be going back to land.

Allen has been insisting for days that BP go ahead and start the bottom kill. On Tuesday he changed his tune, and stated that more testing needed to be completed before a decision could be made.

Allen said, "I'm not sure we know that. I don't want to prejudge whether we are going to do it or not going to do it. It will be conditioned based." He did state that there's a "very low probability"
of the bottom kill not being done. "We will let everyone know" if it changes.

BP's (NYSE:BP) Allen Approved Over 74 Exemptions For Chemical Use

While we are all aware of BP's (NYSE:BP) use of the toxic chemical Corexit, documents have brought to light the excessive use of the chemical despite the Environmental Protection Agency's order to not use it. The order was given by the EPA on May 26th.

The documents, released by a congressional subcommittee states that BP was ordered to use the chemical sparingly and rarely. Coast Guard officials ignored this order, and allowed the company to use hundreds of thousands of dispersants in the Gulf.

There are over 74 documented cases that show the Coast Guard giving exemptions for the use of the chemical, despite the order against it. The time frame was only 48 days that these massive amounts of dispersants were used. One of the documents show that BP was actually given the "OK" to use more chemicals then what was even requested.

Thad Allen, the retired Coast Guard admiral who is in charge of leading the oil spill cleanup efforts defended his decision. He said that the overall use of the chemical dispersants dropped significantly after the EPA's order. Although, on some days the amount of surface oil warranted a "tactical" decision to use them.

BP's (NYSE:BP) Static Kill Delayed Due To Debris

The static kill procedure was set to begin today, but BP (NYSE:BP) is saying it will be delayed due to debris from the Gulf of Mexico storm. Thad Allen, National Incident Commander said it's looking like the delay will only be a day hopefully.

On July 23rd, BP had to evacuate all their drilling vessels from the oil spill site to almost 40 miles off Louisiana's coast. Once Tropical Storm Bonnie subsided, there was much sediment that fell inside the wellbore which had to be removed. There is a drilling vessel preparing to install casing into the relief well.

The casing must be installed before the static kill attempt to reinforce the well. This process may cut down on the time it takes to ultimately plug the well permanently. The relief well is not expected to be ready to have the mud pumped through it for at least a few more weeks.

Where or Where Has The BP (NYSE:BP) Oil Gone ?

Over 200 million gallons of BP's (NYSE:BP) toxic crude oil was spewed into the ocean. The federal government and BP has sent a small army to clean it up, but the problem is they can't find it.


The oil slick mass is now the size of New Hampshire but started out the size of Kansas. The Coast Guard flew around the BP rig site and no oil could be found. An ABC News team surveyed a marsh area and the oil eluded them as well.

A shrimper, Salvador Cepriano is one of many searching for the oil. He said hes been putting out boom but it's not catching any oil. "I think it is underneath the water. It's in between the bottom and the top of the water," said Cepriano.

The government is says it's getting harder and harder to find the crude. Thad Allen, National Incident Commander said, "It is become a very elusive bunch of oil for us to find." This doesn't mean that all the oil is gone, but experts are saying that a massive amount has reabsorbed into the environment.

BP (NYSE:BP) Won't Plug Well Until Next Week

Thad Allen, National Incident Commander told reporters on Sunday that BP (NYSE:BP) will most likely begin working on plugging the well next week. The ships used to help plug the well were evacuated Friday due to tropical storm Bonnie, but most have returned or are expected to return within 24 hours.

Allen said that he plans on BP beginning the process known as "static kill" next week. This entails pouring mud into the top of the well. Once completed, they will then proceed with what's called the "bottom kill." The process includes pouring mud and concrete by a connecting line to the relief well.

Allen was very optimistic over the success of containing the leaking oil on July 15th. He said the pressure continues to rise at a slow steady pace, reaching 6,904 pounds per square inch. The well remains intact with no leaks.

BP (NYSE:BP): Re-opening Spill Containment Cap and Hiding Data

BP (NYSE:BP) is hiding the data from their testing and reopening the spill containment cap. The cap has to be re-opened for up to 3 days said Doug Suttles. Saying that pressure must be taken off the well before BP can continue their containment efforts.

Doug Suttles took the place of Kent Wells at the McBriefing, after giving very little information he then refused to answer any questions. The only information that was given was about the pressure of the well, even that didn't make a whole lot of since. He said since the well was closed 63 hours prior, the pressure was up to 6,778 and was building as they thought it would.

What's odd about this is on Tuesday Thad Allen stated, "We will at some point try to get to 8,000 or 9,000 and sustain that for some period of time, and these will be done basically as I said. If we have a very low pressure reading, we will try and need at least six hours of those readings to try to ensure that that is the reading. If it's a little higher, we want to go for 24 hrs. If it's up at 8,000 or 9,000, we would like to go 48 hrs. just to make sure it can sustain those pressures for that amount of time."

Suttles continued to dodge questioning Sunday afternoon as to what BP plans to do next. He did say, "Nobody wants to see anymore oil going into the Gulf," a minimum of 5 times. He continued saying, the facilities to take all the oil flow wouldn't be completed until the end of July. In order to relieve the well of pressure, he said they would have to remove the containment cap and let oil flow out for 3 days.

BP (NYSE:BP) Relief Well, 100 FT. From Their Target

The estimated time frame for BP's (NYSE:BP) relief wells to be completed was three months. They are now only 100 feet from reaching their target. A contractor for BP said the relief wells could be completed within two weeks.

President of Blackhawk Specialty Tools, Billy Brown, said that they are getting "very close" to the first relief well. They are within 10 feet of reaching their target. Blackhawk is directly involved with the cementing process of the two relief wells at the Deepwater Horizon oil spill site. He said, "Hopefully in the next two weeks we are going to be hearing some very good things. BP has been flawless in getting this well out."

Thad Allen, retired U.S. Coast Guard Administrator said, despite the fact that drilling is a week ahead of schedule he is "sticking" with the original August target. There are still plenty of variables that could effect the completion of the relief wells. Including hurricane season and as BP heads down the home stretch of the final steps, frequent stops and measurements are required.

BP (NYSE:BP): Relief Wells Should Plug the Gulf Oil Leak

The two relief wells being drilled in order plug the Gulf oil leak continue to be ahead of schedule, and should provide the best opportunity to plug the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

By "bouncing electromagnetic waves through rock to measure the distance between the relief well and the interception target," Bob Dudley, who is now overseeing the Gulf cleanup on behalf of BP, says they're about 600 feet away from reaching the area they're going to plug the well at.

This refers to the first relief well. The second well is being dug as a backup in case something goes wrong with the first one.

How the drilling works is they do it parallel with the oil well until they reach the desired depth, and at that time they'll be about 5 feet away, which they then drill directly into.

According to Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, the chances of successfully accomplishing the task is very high.

“Relief wells are things that these companies have done before, not just BP but all the companies,” said Allen. “The methods they’re using, the technology they’re using, it’s all been proven in the water, on land.”

BP (NYSE:BP) Close To Placing Better Cap on Oil Leak

By the end of June, BP (NYSE:BP) should have an improved cap over the oil well now leaking oil into the Gulf, and it could be within a week if everything goes right, according to Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, who is representing the U.S government in overseeing the matter.

The practicals of it are the existing containment cap will be removed and then replaced with a larger one, which not only can capture more oil, but also allow those vessels processing or burning off the gas and oil to disconnect and move to safer waters in case of a hurricane.

One important additional element of the new cap will be a sensor which should give a more accurate reading of rate the oil is actually leaking into the Gulf; something no one has yet to get a handle on.

Government scientists have estimated a daily oil leak of 35,000 to 60,000 barrels, while the worst-case scenario from BP is as high as 100,000 barrels of oil a day gushing into the Gulf.

Once the cap is in place, there will be another vessel included in the processing of the oil, which could capture up to 53,000 barrels a day.

By the middle of July, BP hopes to be able to capture up to 80,000 barrels of day if that much is actually spilling into the ocean.

So far BP has captured 231,190 barrels of oil since the cap system has been in place.

BP (NYSE:BP) UPDATE: Fuel Spill containment

A group of reporters were able to tour the BP (NYSE:BP) oil rig on Saturday and see how the fuel spill containment was progressing. They flew along the Mississippi River Delta above the wetlands. They saw the ineffective boom floating as well as the skimmers. About 40 miles off the coast, they reach their destination which has a 200 foot derrick.

Wendell Guidry, the Transocean drilling superintendent that was on the rig said," its always, always on our mind." Work continues to press on around the clock. There are eight thrusters in place that keep the rig positioned correctly over the well. In the distance another rig is visible, it is siphoning oil and gas from the well and burning it. It appears the flames are coming down like a shower. There are ships surrounding this rig, their purpose is to hose of the deck to keep the heat from building.

Thad Allen, Coast Guard Administrator said that the drilling and construction of the relief wells is still ahead of schedule. Of course there can always be delays. Like on Saturday, a set of tongs which are used to hold the casings in place broke.

BP is still maintaining their drilling of the relief well should be completed sometime in August, of course there are no guarantees. Currently, they are close to 11,000 feet below the sea floor.