Experts say BP may be nearing success
Well could be killed in 14 days, they think, but company sticks to August date
By MONICA HATCHER
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
June 29, 2010, 8:28PM
chron.com
BP's progress drilling a relief well may put it within striking range of the blown-out Macondo well in as little as two weeks, independent analysts said Tuesday, stoking hopes that the devastating Gulf oil spill could be stopped nearly a month earlier than anticipated.
While BP has not adjusted its early August timetable for completing the first of two relief wells boring toward the Macondo more than two miles beneath the Gulf of Mexico seabed, independent drilling engineers and some energy analysts said the company could be in a position to intercept the damaged well and begin the critical kill operation within 14 days.
"Two weeks might be reasonable," said Darryl Bourgoyne, director of the petroleum engineering research and technology transfer laboratory at Louisiana State University, though he added the company still has many steps to complete first.
Equity analysts with Pritchard Capital Partners were even more optimistic, saying in a note to investors Tuesday the relief well could reach its target in eight to 10 days, with the oil flow stopped relatively quickly afterward.
"Although the operator is conservatively saying August, discussions with experts in well control and relief operations have us convinced that the probability is high that Macondo is no longer flowing within a fortnight, setting up a nice rally for energy as a whole," the note said. |
