July 15, 2010 - UPDATE:
Well Integrity Test Resumes. All Cap Valves Closed. Oil flow Halted. They will now continue to monitor well pressure at 6 hour intervals over the next 36 to 48 hours, and hope the pressure builds to at least 8,000 - 9.000psi. The media hailed the closure of the well after 87 days, though this is a temporary situation and is no real indication that the problem has been resolved. If the pressure does not build as hoped, it will mean significant downhole damage is allowing oil and gas to leak below the surface of the sea floor. One concern expressed by oil industry expert Robert Cavner is that a “flex joint” in the lower BOP area is not rated to hold the pressure BP hopes to obtain in this test. In fact, the test would subject this flex joint (rated at a 5,000psi maximum) to pressures well beyond its maximum tolerance. So the whole situation has now entered that breathless stage much akin to watching a boiling tea kettle. We are in “wait and see” mode, and will not really know the outcome of this procedure for some time. But we are much closer to proving or finally disproving the assertions of Matt Simmons and other analysts who claim the well is fatally damaged, and that the sea floor itself is gushing oil elsewhere. (Main article here)
