BP aims to fit new oil cap at Gulf spill next week

BP is aiming to fit a new and more efficient oil cap at the Gulf of Mexico oil spill next week and has removed the current device.

The company’s new target is to collect as much as 80,000 barrels of oil a day, Kent Wells, vice president of exploration and production, said.

But uncapping the well has released a torrent of oil that will spew unrestrained into the Gulf for four to seven days, the time BP says it will take to put in place a bigger cap and seal.

“We’re on plan,” Mr Wells told reporters from Houston after the robots under water started removing the old installation. “All the crews and everything are set up on rotating shifts so that we can continue operations 24 hours a day.”

Despite expressing confidence in its latest design, BP has warned there is no guarantee it will work as the technology has not been deployed at this kind of depth before.

Meanwhile, BP is still working on a plan to seal the well permanently by drilling two relief wells.

Tags:  BP, cap, gulf, Mexico, new oil cap, oil, oil cap, spill