BP Extends Test of Gulf of Mexico Oil Well

Extended HOUSTON (Reuters) - BBC for another 24 hours, a crucial test for the Gulf States in the blown-out of Mexico well that so far the huge oil spill shut down, and a senior U.S. official overseeing the spill response on Saturday.

The British energy giant cut off the flow of oil from the depths of the sea also began on Thursday when a test to measure the extent of structural integrity, and increased confidence that had a good sound.

Said Kent Wells, Vice President of BP's senior exploration and production, there was no evidence of a leak. "We are feeling more comfortable that we have integrity" in the well, Wales and added, in what could be an important step towards closing the final.

When the marked BP stifle the flow of oil on Thursday, using a new, cap containment narrow installed on top of miles well below the ocean surface, the first time in the flow has stopped since Apr. 20 blast rigs, which killed 11 workers and the effects of this disaster.

U.S. officials say that as soon as testing is completed, BP and restart the pipes to set a maximum limit of the equipment and the resumption of oil suction vessels on the surface. Officials said that all the oil from the rupture can also be obtained in this way so can be connected permanently with the relief well, as planned in August.

The massive oil spill caused an economic disaster and environmental along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.

"We continue to see success in the temporary suspension of the oil leak, the Government of the United States and BP have agreed to allow the testing of safety to continue another 24 hours", a retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, a man the U.S. government on the spot, said in a statement .

Officials monitoring the pressure in the well, which extends 2.5 kilometers below the seabed, to judge whether it was structurally sound with no leak at the bottom of the sea. Statement did not say the yen did not provide pressure readings as of Saturday afternoon.

The objective of the test continues to show whether the explosion was in April damaged pipes and cement inside the well, which may allow oil and gas to leak out the sides and leak through the bottom of the sea.

Was scheduled to last two days and ends on Saturday. Allen refers to the statement that it will continue until Sunday afternoon.

Wales told the BBC to investigate the bubbles out of the valve in the pipe at the very top of the well, which he described as "absolutely normal" and can be nitrogen instead of natural gas leaking from below.

The Chairman welcomed Barak Obama, the United States, which has slumped as the oil spill crisis dragged on, and capping the well, but warned that there are a lot of work to be done before a lasting solution is achieved.

Lasting reform

Even if the test ends successfully, and officials said the only permanent fix is to reduce the BP has been well drilled to intersect rupture well below the sea floor and seal with mud and cement in the next month. A sound structural well would advance this effort.

Obama was to shoot me to pay the London-based bridge leakage and clean the mess, environmental and economic development in all five states bordering the Gulf of Mexico. Have been destroyed by the spill, the worst in U.S. history, a multibillion-dollar fishing and tourism industry and drilling and dirty on hundreds of miles from the beach.

Wales told the pressure in the well is increasing more slowly than hoped. He said that the pressure reached £ 6745 per square inch (lb / square inch) on Saturday morning, and a height of about 2 lbs / hour.

Allen said, and BP said they want to push up to 7500 lbs / square inch and maintain one or more, which would indicate the oil and gas that flow to the top with any wrongdoing.

High pressure and also shows that inhibits the flow of oil if all ships of siphoning off crude oil was cut off and away in advance of the hurricane. Officials said under the pressure of 6000 lbs / square inch and indicate a possible leak.

Once the test is complete, BP plans to withdraw up to 80,000 barrels (12.7 million liters) of oil per day and sent to the waiting ships on the sea surface.

Wales told Allen has the final say in the test when cycle ends and BP work ahead. Allen said that when the test is stopped, BP will begin immediately two of the oil up to the detention of vessels on the surface of the suction of crude oil from the well.

Lockerbie bombing controversy

Oil spill crisis continue to complicate U.S. relations with Britain, a close ally. Is assigned to the British Prime Minister David Cameron to meet with Obama on Tuesday.

He said British Foreign Secretary William Hague in a letter addressed to the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Saturday: "There is no evidence that enhances any way the allegations of my involvement" in the release of Scotland last year to a Libyan man convicted in the bombing in 1988 in the United States an airliner over Scotland.

And decided the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee on July 29 hearing on possible links between BP and the release by Scotland Abdul Basit al-Megrahi, a Libyan intelligence agent who was the only person convicted in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Killed in the Lockerbie bombing 270 people, mostly Americans.

Foreign Relations Committee plans to ask officials from BP to testify about the matter after the company said it pressed on the British government in 2007 to accelerate the transfer of prisoners agreement with Libya.

Has been expressed by many Britons believed that the United States is to deal very harshly BP at the expense of British pension funds and other investors who have large stakes in the company.

Last month, BP agreed, under pressure from Obama, to create a fund worth 20 billion dollars to cover claims for compensation for damage caused by spills.

Estimates vary widely on the costs of BP's total - from 40 billion dollars to 100 billion dollars - and that will continue for many years as cases wind their way through the courts.