On Wednesday, (August 4th), the White House energy advisor, Carol Browner, told reporters that the development suggested we have turned an important corner for the people in the Gulf, where for the past 106 days, millions of gallons of oil has been guzzling into the ocean and streams, killing hundreds of wildlife and severely impacting on the fishing industry of areas such as Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi, Texas and Alabama.
During the past week, British Petroleum, (BP), has been pouring mud into the well to stop the flow of crude oil that has made its way into the Gulf of Mexico. The process which is dubbed, “static Kill”, appears to be working according to BP officials who have been monitoring the operation. The static kill involved a procedure that saw the pumping of mud from a nearby ship, into the broken well, approximately one mile below the surface.
A BP official has stated that the initial results are encouraging and that it is a step in the right direction to stabilize the well. They said that the next step would be deciding whether to cement the well. However, the company will only be certain if the operation has succeeded after careful studies are carried out by engineers assigned to the project.