BP cap holding – for now

NEW ORLEANS – BP’s 48-hour trial run of a cap blocking oil from streaming into the Gulf of Mexico ended yesterday with no word on what happens next. The cap could be reopened if scientists decide it could create an underground breach. It also could be reopened if they need to do certain seafloor mapping, or if they want to contain the oil by instead drawing it up to vessels on the surface. Kent Wells, a BP PLC vice president, said earlier that engineers glued to an array of sensors were seeing no evidence of oil escaping into the water or the sea floor. Undersea robots patrolled the well site for signs of trouble. A new breach underground was a major concern going into the trial, because oil breaking out of pipes in the bedrock would be harder to control and could endanger plans for a permanent plug.“We’re feeling more comfortable,” Wells said on a morning conference call, but cautioned: “The test is not over.” (AP)