Sign up to The Irish Times Archive (1859 - 2008)My Account »
BP's stricken oil well showed no sign of leaking today after a new cap stopped crude from flowing into the Gulf of Mexico, but US president Barack Obama cautioned there was more work to do before the gusher was permanently stopped.
BP was conducting a pressure test after it choked off the well yesterday. Underwater robots scanned the sea floor for signs of oil leaks, which could happen if the undersea well is damaged.
"We've seen no negative evidence of any breaching there," said Kent Wells, BP's senior vice president of exploration and production.
Mr Obama, speaking at the White House, cautiously welcomed the news. "We won't be done until we actually know that we've killed the well and that we have a permanent solution in place. We're moving in that direction, but I don't want us to get too far ahead of ourselves."
BP's shares rose in London on hopes that it has at last been able to stop the oil that has been leaking into the Gulf of Mexico for the past three months and can focus on the cleanup.
It was the first time BP managed to cap the flow since the April 20th explosion that killed 11 men and caused the worst offshore oil spill in US history.
Investors welcomed the news that the leak has been capped but remained cautious since BP needs to complete 48 hours of tests on whether the well will remain intact after a new tight-sealing containment cap was installed on the mile-deep wellhead on Monday.
Estimates vary widely of BP's total costs, which will run on for many years as lawsuits wind their way through courts.
Three analysts surveyed by Reuters Insider television forecast BP will spend between $63 billion to $100 billion over the next 15 years in fines, cleanup costs and legal costs while analyst Peter Hutton at NCB.
