NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Engineers are closely monitoring whether the massive cap holding back oil from BP’s busted Gulf well is holding tight as the end of a critical 48-hour testing window approaches.
Their round-the-clock work deciphering a puzzle of data from undersea robots and instruments at the wellhead has yielded positive but inconclusive signs so far.
Saturday afternoon will mark two full days since BP stopped the oil from leaking into the Gulf and entered into the pressure-testing phase. At that point engineers could offer more definitive evidence that the cap is working, or call for more testing. At any time before then, they could also reopen the cap and allow some oil to spill into the sea.
Scientists are watching for leaks either in the well itself or the sea floor.
