BP announced today that have finished the second step of the static kill method which involved pumping cement into the blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico. The cementing operation began at 9:15 a.m. CST and was completed at 2:15 CST. The cement plug was the second phase in the static kill operation, falling just days behind the initial phase of filling the well full of heavy mud at a weight of 13lbs per gallon.
According to BP, the static kill method is supposed to "compliment" an entirely separate effort to plug the well. A relief well will be the final solution to plugging the well. In order to construct the relief well, BP will have to drill into the base of the Macondo well and then plug it with cement.
Retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad W. Allen authorized the cementing operation. After 107 days of continuous oil, the well is now barely a threat to spew oil. Now federal waters are reopening to allow fishing. And the once oil slick surface is gradually fading. However, scientist estimate that the amount of oil left in the Gulf of Mexico is still four times the amount of oil spilled by Exxon Valdez.
A study released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Interior Department stated that almost three-quarters of the five million barrels of oil dumped in the Gulf of Mexico has largely dissolved, evaporate, or been skimmed by boats, dispersed through chemicals, burned, weathered or ingested by oil-eating microbial.
