FAIRHOPE, Ala. — BP’s latest plan to stop the flow of oil in the Gulf of Mexico has been carried out, but at press time Tuesday the entire coast was still waiting to find out if the Top Hat 10 capping stack was successful. The procedure involved installing a new flange and containment system atop the damaged blowout preventer, then either pumping all of the oil to the surface or closing valves in the new capping stack to completely shut down the flow.

Adm. Thad Allen, the national incident commander, issued a statement in which he discussed his decision to authorize the oil company to move forward. It read in part, “After reviewing Bob Dudley’s response to my July 8 letter outlining BP’s proposed plan of action for oil containment efforts, and consulting top government scientists and engineers including (Energy) Secretary Chu, I approved BP’s plan to simultaneously install the Helix Producer and “capping stack” containment mechanisms, which will require temporary suspension of the current top hat containment system.

“I validated this plan because the capacity for oil containment when these installations are complete will be far greater than the capabilities we have achieved using current systems. In addition, favorable weather expected over the coming days will provide the working conditions necessary for these transitions to be successfully completed without delays.”

As many as 70,000 gallons of crude oil per day (by some estimates) spewed from the damaged well after the existing collection cap was removed. A skimmer fleet operated near the well site over the weekend. Around 46 skimmers were utilized, and controlled burns were carried out in an attempt to mitigate the spill at the surface.

Doug Suttles, BP’s chief operating officer, said if the current capping effort is successful, as many as four ships could simultaneously collect oil from the well until it is ultimately sealed through the use of heavy drilling mud and cement.

According to the company, the new sealing cap contains three closing rams and multiple ports for connection to additional containment options. BP also contends the new cap “creates the potential to increase oil and gas containment capacity to greater than 50,000 barrels per day and should improve containment efficiency during hurricane season by allowing shorter disconnect and reconnect times.”

Company engineers have said the new cap assembly might also simplify the plan to use the relief wells to kill the MC252 well.

For the full story, pick up a copy of the July 14th Fairhope Courier.