BP: No Decision Has Been Made On Doing 'Static Kill'

By Susan Daker Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES HOUSTON (Dow Jones)--BP PLC (BP, BP.LN) will continue to test the integrity of a cap that has temporarily sealed a runaway well in the Gulf of Mexico while a group of scientists debate a way to speed up the Deepwater Horizon gusher's ultimate demise, company executives and government officials said Tuesday. BP and the U.S. government plan to spend another day or two mulling a "static kill," which could plug the leak with heavy drilling mud. The procedure, somewhat similar to the so-called "top kill" attempt that failed last May, could increase the chances of success for a relief well that the company is currently drilling to stop the leak from the bottom of the well. "Working in tandem these (two) can have an ability to have the well completely killed in less time," Kent Wells, a BP senior vice president, said in a news conference. "It could also reduce the execution of risk," so it is "clearly worthy" of study, he said. The U.K. oil giant first floated the "static kill" idea to the public late Monday. Even though the previous attempt to kill the well from the top failed, this time around the well is shut in and the reservoir is somewhat depleted, Wells said, meaning the company can pump mud at a lower rate and keep it from gushing back out. The company continues to work on dual relief wells, the first of which is scheduled to kill the leaking well by mid-August, Wells said. On Tuesday, U.S. authorities approved another 24-hour testing period for a cap that is keeping up to 60,000 barrels of oil a day from spilling into the Gulf of Mexico, retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, who heads the federal oil spill response effort, said in a conference call. The well has been shut in since Thursday, when BP began testing the new containment cap. The cap was originally supposed to be tested for 48 hours, but Allen has granted four 24 hour extensions. Allen holds the power to call off the test of the cap at anytime. So far BP is pleased with the results of the testing. "At this point we do not have any anomalies or evidence that would say we don't have well integrity," Wells said Thursday. However, the tests are not conclusive, he added. "As each day goes along it gives us more confidence," he said. BP has been working for 13 weeks to contain the gusher, which erupted shortly after the explosion and sinking of a Transocean Ltd. (RIG) rig off the coast of Louisiana. -By Susan Daker, Dow Jones Newswires; 713-547-9208; susan.daker@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 20, 2010 17:43 ET (21:43 GMT)