BP and GCIMT Confirm No Oil Leak From the Macondo Well

HOUSTON - On Aug. 25, 2011, BP confirmed through a standard visual wellhead inspection that there is no release of oil from the Macondo well (MC252).

In addition, BP also conducted a visual inspection of the Macondo relief well confirming the same result.
Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) video inspection was conducted in the presence of representatives from the Gulf Coast Incident Management Team (GCIMT) (MC252 Unified Command) located in New Orleans. GCIMT members watching the live video feed included representatives of the US Coast Guard, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, and representatives from the states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida.

The inspection was prompted by press reports that sheens of oil observed in the vicinity were from the Macondo well. The Macondo well was capped on July 15, 2010 and permanently killed by sealing the well and annulus with cement on Sept. 19, 2010. The well was later plugged and abandoned with the approval and oversight of the US government.

During the course of inspecting both wellheads, small, intermittent bubbles were observed emanating from cement ports at the base of the wellheads. These observations are consistent with testing and sampling performed last year that detected nitrogen bubbles, a residual byproduct of the nitrified foam used in setting the wells’ surface casing cement.

BP and the US Coast Guard have conducted multiple surveys of the area in recent days and found no evidence of oil sheens in the Macondo vicinity.