Environment

By Eileen Fleming

New Orleans, La. – The government's point man for the response says once the well is declared dead, crews will start removing the containment cap that stopped the leak in mid-July.

By Eileen Fleming

By Eileen Fleming

New Orleans, La. – BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles says no decision has been made yet on what to do about the oil lease it holds to drill in the Gulf.

"Clearly there's lots of oil and gas here and we'll have to think about what to do with that at some point. But what we've always stated is the original well - the well that had the blowout - and the relief wells would be abandoned. And that's what we're doing."

By Eileen Fleming

New Orleans, La. – The government point man for the oil spill says permanently killing the well from the bottom will be done in stages.

"We'll drill approximately 30 feet further down into the well and between the 8th of August and the 13th of August there will be three patterns where we will drill 30 feet."

By Eileen Fleming

By Eileen Fleming

New Orleans, La. – Retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen says he's not ready to declare the well dead just yet.

"I think we can all breathe a little easier regarding the potential that we'll have oil in the Gulf ever again. But we need to ensure the people of the Gulf and the people of the United States that this thing is properly finished and that will be through the bottom. Now how long it takes depends on when the cementing is done."

By Eileen Fleming

By Eileen Fleming

New Orleans, La. – The report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says about a quarter of the oil that spilled remains in the Gulf. NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco says most has dissolved naturally or with the use of chemical dispersants.

By Eileen Fleming

New Orleans, La. – Heavy mud will be pumped one barrel at a time every minute, then two barrels, then three while engineers monitor pressure inside the cap that's been holding back the oil since mid-July. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen says cement could complete the procedure, depending on the condition of lines supporting the well itself.

By Eileen Fleming

New Orleans, La. – BP Vice President Kent Wells says testing shows the well is stable enough to withstand the pressure required to push oil back into the reservoir.

"The injectivity test was textbook. It went exactly as we would have expected. We pumped at several different rates."

Even if it works, retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen says it's not the end of the process to kill the well.