LONDON—BP PLC on Wednesday said it has successfully plugged its Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico with heavy drilling fluid, a “significant milestone” as the U.K. oil major looks to more permanently block the source of a massive oil spill.
“The… well appears to have reached a static condition,” BP said in a statement.
The “static kill” operation started on Tuesday. Engineers injected low levels of refined oils into the well from the top. This was done to determine if they could stop the crude from flowing upward and push it down into the reservoir 13,000 feet below the sea floor.
After finding this was possible, BP began pumping more than 2,000 barrels of heavy drilling fluid, called “mud,” into the well. BP stopped pumping the fluids into the well after eight hours, the company said, sooner than initially expected.
Full Story: BP Says ‘Static Kill”‘ Achieved – WSJ.com
BP CLOSE TO PERMANENT SEAL