COLLEEN LONG and HARRY R. WEBER
Associated Press Writers
NEW ORLEANS – BP engineers were back to the slow work of trying to choke the Gulf of Mexico oil gusher with an untested cap after replacing a leaky pipe Thursday, the latest delay in the uncertain fix.
Kent Wells, a BP PLC vice president, said at a news briefing in Houston that the overnight leak in a pipe on the side of the towering, 75-ton capping stack was fixed by replacing the assembly, called a “choke line.”
The work sent the oil giant back to restarting preparations for testing whether the cap can stop the oil without blowing a new leak in the well. If it works, the cap will be a temporary fix until BP can drill into the gusher to plug it for good from underground, where the seal will hold better.