The Top Kill Didn’t Work, Now What!?

While the rest of the country barbequed, relaxed, vacationed and hung out with family and friends over the long weekend, the Gulf Coast received disappointing news that the top kill BP used to stop the oil spill didn’t work.  So now what!?

On Saturday, BP engineers said that the “top kill” technique had failed and, after consultation with government officials, they had decided to move on to another strategy.  The top kill was the latest of many failed attempts to stop the spill.  A technician who had been working on the project to stem the oil leak said that neither the top kill nor the “junk shot” came close to succeeding because the pressure of oil and gas escaping from the well was simply too powerful to overcome.  He added that engineers never had a complete enough understanding of the inner workings of drill pipe casing or blowout preventer mechanisms to make the efforts work.

Engineers will now try once again to solve the problem with a containment cap and it could take four to seven days for the device to be in place.

The whole thing feels so completely unpredictable and out of our control, and it’s difficult to be a helpless bystander.

BP has started work on two relief wells but officials have said that they will not be completed until August, which is a very scary thought.  It’s incomprehensible to think about the damage that could be done if this oil continues to gush into the Gulf for 3 more months. 

The latest failure will undoubtedly put more pressure on the federal government to take more control over the repair effort because the public is quickly losing faith in BP.

The Gulf Coast will be holding its breath in the days and weeks ahead.  And we hope to have the nation’s continued support, patience and prayers.

Oh and did I mention that today marks the beginning of hurricane season… yeah, let’s not go there.

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