BP Plc hopes to begin the final steps to end the environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday as it tries again to permanently plug the three-month-old oil gusher, dpa reported.
In a double manoeuvre, BP will inject mud into the ruptured well head to counteract the upward pressure of oil and gas - the so-called static kill. BP's Doug Suttles, vice president for exploration and production, said Sunday that BP was on target to begin static kill on Tuesday.
The second phase involves the parallel relief well that has been drilled to within 30 metres of the bottom of the well, five kilometres under the sea floor. The final crucial drilling could be completed by week's end, according to the New York Times, but BP has also indicated it could take until the end of August.
The static kill injection was tried two months ago - under the name of top kill - and failed. But with the installation of a new, tighter cap, the oil flow has been largely blocked since July 15. The new cap will provide the entry point for forcing specially engineered mud, followed by cement, to contain the pressure.
Once the relief well has connected with the well at the bottom of the ocean, it will become the funnel for another dose of mud and cement that is expected to permanently seal off the well - the so- called bottom kill.
The Deepwater Horizon drill rig exploded April 20, about 60 kilometres off the coast of Louisiana, killing 11 rig workers, rupturing the wellhead and spewing crude oil into the fragile Gulf of Mexico and its coastline.
The wetlands along the coast are the nursery for one of the most diverse marine ecologies in the world. Hundreds of birds, tortoises and other marine animals have perished from the oil slick and the fishing economy has been severely damaged.