Orjan F. Ellingvag/Dagens Naringsliv/Corbis
While BP successfully capped its undersea gusher in the Gulf on Thursday, company and government officials warned it will take time to see if the cap will help staunch the flow.
The cap’s placement was a rare success after a frustrating slate of failures (Top Kill, anyone?). But don’t count on a substantial reduction in the volume of oil just yet. “It will be some time before we can confirm that this method will work,” said Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Tony Russell to CNN. And even then, the cap isn’t a long-term solution — that will likely come in the form of relief wells, completion of which isn’t expected until August.
The success came after BP successfully sliced away a damaged riser pipe on Thursday, clearing room for the cap to be put in place. But the cut wasn’t as precise as BP hoped, which affected the quality of the cap’s seal. That means total containment of the leaking oil is unlikely. But how much will be captured? “The next 12 to 24 hours will give us an indication of how successful this attempt will be,” said BP CEO Tony Hayward.