World Loss Log

Property and business interruption

Sep 10, Deepwater Horizon, change of plan

US: BP revamped its plan to permanently plug its ruptured Gulf of Mexico oil well in a bid to get it done faster, the company said in a statement today. BP had considered a second attempt to pump cement into the Macondo well before resuming drilling on a relief well that would plug it for good, but that could have dragged the process into late September or early October. Instead, BP decided to place a lockdown device on a seal at the top of the well to secure it. The new plan was approved by retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, the top US official overseeing the spill response. The device will add assurance the well could withstand higher pressure once relief well drilling resumed. BP did not provide a timeline for when the new plan will be put into action.