If the second attempt fails, BP said it may try an alternative operation to inject golf balls, tires and other "junk" under high pressure into the main leak, 1,500 meters down on the seabed, and then jam it up.
The "Deepwater Horizon" drilling rig, owned by Swiss-based Transocean and leased by BP, sank April 22 some 52 km off Venice, Louisiana, after burning for roughly 36 hours. The untapped wellhead continues gushing oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
Related:
Mexico begins oil spill probe in Gulf of Mexico
MEXICO CITY, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Mexico has launched an investigation into the Gulf of Mexico oil spill for any possible effects on the nation, said the environment minister on Wednesday.
Studies have been carried out by the Environment Ministry to determine the environmental impact nationally, minister Juan Rafael Elvira told a press conference. Full story
Oil companies involved in U.S. oil spill play blame game
WASHINGTON, May 11 (Xinhua) -- Executives of three oil and oil service companies involved in the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill all blame each other at a hearing Tuesday at the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Full story
BP forced to back off plan to contain oil with steel dome
HOUSTON, May 8 (Xinhua) -- British energy giant BP was forced Saturday to back off a plan to contain oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico with a metal box when icelike crystals encrusted the structure.
Crews have to move the four-story steel dome, which was considered the best short-term hope of containing oil leak from the undersea wellhead, to the side and are trying to find other solutions, BP chief operating officer Doug Suttles said Saturday. Full story
Mexico, U.S. to evaluate oil-spill impact on Gulf of Mexico
MEXICO CITY, May 11 (Xinhua) -- Mexico and the United States have agreed to create a work group to evaluate whether a spreading Gulf oil spill damaged the ecosystem they both share, officials said Tuesday.
"We reached a consensus with the U.S. government, with our counterpart, the (U.S.) Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar," said Environment Secretary Juan Rafael Elvira Quesada. Full story
NASA deploys research aircraft to assess oil spill
LOS ANGELES, May 11 (Xinhua) -- NASA has commissioned its instrumented research aircraft, the Earth Resources-2 (ER-2), to the Gulf of Mexico to help assess the spread and impact of the current massive oil spill, it was announced on Tuesday.
The ER-2 was sent to collect detailed images of the Gulf of Mexico and its threatened coastal wetlands, said the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), headquartered in Pasadena, Los Angeles. Full story
California to assist oil spill recovery
LOS ANGELES, May 12 (Xinhua) -- California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced on Wednesday that the state will do what it can to help cope with the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
He said California is dispatching a team of oil spill experts to the Gulf Coast to assist with oil spill response efforts, following an oil rig explosion on April 20. Full story
