Interesting how interests have switched:
BP wants to keep the well head closed, I am sure mainly for PR sake; while the Govt wants to open it and collect the oil in tankers in order to relieve the pressure in case there is some seepage going on.
Oil cap kept shut despite seepage near broken well - Yahoo! News
Quote:
If the valves are kept closed, as BP wants, it's possible that no more oil will leak into the Gulf of Mexico. Work on a permanent plug is moving steadily, with crews drilling into the side of the ruptured well from deep underground. By next week, they could start blasting in mud and cement to block off the well for good.
But the government is worried that the cap on the well is causing oil and gas to leak out elsewhere, which could make the sea floor unstable and cause the well to collapse. That's why federal officials want to pump the crude to ships on the surface. That would require opening the well for a few days to relieve pressure before the pipes could be hooked up, letting millions more gallons of oil spill out in the interim.
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