The BP oil rig accident containment cap

BP is now testing a new cap over the leaking Deepwater Horizon well to determine whether it can stop the largest and possibly most destructive oil spill and oil rig accidents in United States history. Beginning noon Central Time, a 40-foot stack of valves which was affixed on top of the well will stop the flow of oil. With a tight new cap installed on its well, BP plans various gradual tests starting to see if the cap device can stop the oil. If the pressure inside the cap stays within the target range (8000-9000 pounds per square inch) for approximately six hours after the closing of the valves, many believe the cap could then contain the oil.

The plan is to halt the leak, which is as much as 60,000 barrels of oil per day, until the well can be plugged with cement next month. The cap, of course, is simply a temporary solution. The relief wells are hoped to be the permanent solution. Oil rig accident lawyers on both sides of the litigation are keeping their fingers crossed.

The Macondo well has been leaking spewing oil into the Gulf of Mexico since the April 20, 2010 explosion that killed 11 offshore oil rig workers. The Helix Producer I, which is a floating oil-production ship at the location of the accident, was collecting crude at 12,500 barrels per day as of this morning.

Contact offshore oil rig accident attorney Scott Nelson if you or a loved have been harmed by this or another oil rig accident. Mr. Nelson practices in Galveston, Houston, Victoria, Brownsville and all of Texas.