BP top kill

15 Stories

Top Kill's Failure Marks Obama's Stalling Point

Spill is Obama's Iranian hostage crisis, writes David Brooks

(Newser) - The failure of BP's top kill marks the moment the Obama presidency went from "lightning advance" to "nasty stasis," writes David Brooks. The sweeping changes of his first 16 months in office have been accomplished and the president is now faced with intractable problems and stalled legislation,...

BP Turns to Containment Valve
 BP Turns to Containment Valve  
May 30, 2010 5:56 AM CDT

BP Turns to Containment Valve

Experts think containment valve might make things worse

(Newser) - BP is hurriedly devising yet another mix of risky undersea robot maneuvers and containment devices to fight the worst oil spill in US history, after the most ambitious bid yet to stop the Gulf of Mexico gusher ended in failure. Now, BP hopes to saw through a pipe leading out...

BP Abandons 'Top Kill'
 BP Abandons 'Top Kill'  
obama: it's 'heartbreaking'
May 29, 2010 5:35 PM CDT

BP Abandons 'Top Kill'

It failed, and company will now try other options

(Newser) - Bad news from the Gulf this afternoon: BP is calling off its "top kill" operation after it failed to plug the oil leak in several attempts. "We have made the decision to move onto the next option," said chief operating officer Doug Suttles. President Obama called the...

'Top Kill' Isn't Working
 'Top Kill' Isn't Working 
May 29, 2010 1:56 PM CDT

'Top Kill' Isn't Working

Operation again halted as flow of oil continues

(Newser) - BP's efforts to plug the leak aren't working. The latest "junk shot" failed to stop the flow of oil last night, and engineers have once again halted the "top kill" pumping while they review data, reports the New York Times . "Right now, I would not be optimistic,...

US Watches, Waits
 US Watches Top Kill, Waits 
May 29, 2010 6:15 AM CDT

US Watches Top Kill, Waits

Millions captivated by the spillcam look for progress

(Newser) - Two days after BP began a risky effort to plug its gushing oil well, company officials said the operation was going as planned but offered few details, leaving it up to the millions glued to its "spillcam" to speculate whether the top kill was working. Most experts saw incremental...

BP Resumes Effort to Plug Leak

After another unannounced suspension

(Newser) - BP resumed its "top kill" operation late this afternoon after the second straight day of an unannounced suspension and mixed messages. They continue to say they will need 24 to 48 hours for a final verdict. Energy Secretary Steven Chu tells the Washington Post there's "some evidence" that...

Top Kill Working for Now (Again)

'Junk shot' has also been deployed

(Newser) - BP has fired off its “junk shot” and resumed pumping heavy fluid into the spewing Deepwater Horizon well, which appears to have staunched the flow of oil, Adm. Thad Allen, who's in charge of overseeing the spill for the Coast Guard, said today on Good Morning America, though he...

BP Resumes 'Top Kill'
 BP Resumes 'Top Kill'  
May 27, 2010 7:13 PM CDT

BP Resumes 'Top Kill'

Initial efforts didn't stop the flow of oil

(Newser) - It's "top kill," take two. BP has resumed pumping dense mud into its blown-out well in the Gulf, reports CNN . The company began the procedure yesterday but said it suspended it about midnight to assess progress. Despite some positive reports to the contrary this morning, the initial efforts...

BP Suspends 'Top Kill'
 BP Suspends 'Top Kill' 
May 27, 2010 4:20 PM CDT

BP Suspends 'Top Kill'

First two efforts didn't stop the flow of oil

(Newser) - The "top kill" operation is on hold, and oil is still gushing from the floor of the Gulf. BP says it hopes to try again later tonight. News of the suspension, first reported by the New York Times in the late afternoon, came as something of a surprise after...

'Top Kill' Stops Oil Flow Into Gulf

But Coast Guard won't call it a success until the cement is in

(Newser) - BP's “top kill” plan has at least temporarily stopped the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, the Coast Guard admiral in charge of overseeing the spill said this morning. The drilling fluid engineers pumped into the pipe yesterday has blocked all oil and gas from the well,...

BP on 'Top Kill': So Far, So Good (But It's Very Early)

The live feed video probably won't reveal much

(Newser) - And now we wait. BP's chief executive says the "top kill" operation that got under way this afternoon is going as planned, reports the AP . He reiterated it will be at least a day before engineers know whether 50,000 barrels of thick mud on the way will do...

BP Begins 'Top Kill' Plan
 BP Begins 'Top Kill' Plan  
May 26, 2010 1:34 PM CDT

BP Begins 'Top Kill' Plan

They hope to plug well with mud and cement

(Newser) - The "top kill" is under way. BP has begun pumping heavy mud into the blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico in an attempt to seal it. Cement will follow. The top kill has never before been tried a mile beneath the sea, and company officials say it could...

Coast Guard OKs BP's 'Top Kill' Plan

Company can proceed with idea to plug the gushing well

(Newser) - The Coast Guard has told BP to fire when ready with its so-called "top kill" plan. The idea is to pump mud into the gushing well to plug it, a practice that has worked on land but never been tried at these ocean depths. The Coast Guard's approval was...

BP Caves, Agrees to Show 'Top Kill' Attempt

Obama: 'Plug the damn hole'

(Newser) - BP has bowed to pressure from an increasingly ticked-off White House and reversed an earlier decision to cut off a live video feed as it attempts a top kill maneuver to plug the Gulf oil leak. The company—slammed by lawmakers yesterday after executives said the feed would be cut...

BP: 60%-70% Chance 'Top Kill' Will Work

Oozing oil, not confidence

(Newser) - BP 's " containment dome " plan failed big time, and the oil giant is less than confident as it readies its latest and greatest plan for tomorrow: The "top-kill" maneuver, which Reuters reports the company thinks has a 60%-70% chance of succeeding. Tomorrow BP plans to inject...

15 Stories