UPDATE: BP Stops Oil Leak In Latest Attempt To Seal Well

(Updates with details about oil leak stopping, BP's well integrity test and comments from BP executive.) By Cassandra Sweet and Susan Daker Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES BP PLC (BP, BP.LN) said Thursday that no oil is flowing out of a broken well into the Gulf of Mexico as the company tests the well with a new cap that it hopes will keep the oil underground. If the cap succeeds, it would be a major achievement for BP after a string of failed attempts to stop the oil leak following the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon rig three months ago. "It's good not to see any oil going into the Gulf of Mexico," BP Senior Vice President Kent Wells said during a teleconference. "I'm trying to maintain my emotions." The test could take anywhere from six hours to two days, or it could stretch out longer if government officials order BP to halt or pause testing. With the test just started, Wells cautioned that the company could have a long way to go before knowing whether the capped well can keep the oil shut in, or whether the company will have to restart containment operations to collect oil leaking from the well. Either way, the test itself is an important step, he said. The cap, placed on Monday, was initially designed to increase the amount of oil that can be captured from the well. Scientists and engineers later suggested that the cap could seal the well, provided the well was in adequate condition, according to BP and retired U.S. Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen. Allen cautioned Thursday that the cap is only a temporary measure and that the ultimate solution to stopping the oil leak is a relief well that BP aims to complete sometime around the end of the month. "Shut-in of the line was never the ultimate goal" of the cap, Allen said during a teleconference. "But make no mistake, the No. 1 goal is to shut in the well and kill it at the source." As the test proceeds, scientists and engineers will analyze the data and present it to Allen, who will decide whether to keep the well closed or reopen it, Wells said. Federal and independent scientists have estimated that between 35,000 and 60,000 barrels of oil have been flowing into the Gulf from the broken well each day. Two containment vessels that have been collecting oil from the well have ceased operations, the company said. The test was originally scheduled to begin Tuesday but was delayed after the government requested further review, and then by an equipment problem. If all goes well over the next 48 hours, spill responders will perform seismic testing to check the integrity of the well and the surrounding sea floor before deciding whether the cap can shut in the well, Allen said. Whether or not the capped well can plug the leak, BP said installing the cap and testing the well were important for spill responders working to prepare for a hurricane or other bad weather. The new cap will allow containment vessels to more quickly disconnect from the system and flee a storm. In that event, oil would again flow freely from the well. If the cap seals the well, spill responders can abandon the site knowing that the oil should be contained. With the new cap in place, BP has estimated that it can recover 60,000 barrels to 80,000 barrels of oil a day. For the past several weeks, a more loosely fitting cap and the Q4000 vessel have managed to collect up to about 25,000 barrels of oil a day from the Gulf. -By Cassandra Sweet and Susan Daker, Dow Jones Newswires; 415-439-6468; cassandra.sweet@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 15, 2010 17:36 ET (21:36 GMT)