For weeks, there’s been talk about BP finally completing the relief well at the bottom of the ocean. But now there’s news that the final stages of the relief effort may not happen until September. So why the multi-month delay? (via Ecocentric)
TIME’s Bryan Walsh covered the breaking news late Monday, and says it’s all a matter of physics:
“Further pressure tests on the well now indicate that some amount of concrete leaked into the annulus, or outer casing, during the earlier static kill. Concrete either leaked directly through the casing pipe, or entered the annulus up from the reservoir. Worse, some 1,000 barrels of oil may be trapped in the annulus, and the wrong drill at the wrong time could lead to a new leak—albeit admittedly one that might be equivalent to the amount of oil the blown BP well was gushing every 20 minutes or so before it was capped last month.”
Read Bryan’s full report here.