Engineers get ready to seal ruptured oil well

Engineers yesterday readied a plan to permanently seal a damaged Gulf of Mexico well, despite delays to the process caused by debris left behind by a recent tropical storm.

As the work continued, incoming BP boss Bob Dudley vowed his company would not abandon residents affected by the spill after the well is finally sealed.

BP hopes to drown the well in an operation dubbed a "static kill", in which mud and cement will be injected down into the ruptured wellhead via a cap installed on July 15.

Dudley last Friday said the operation had been pushed back a day, saying "we are hopeful by Tuesday the static kill will have been performed".

The US pointman on the crisis, Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, said last Friday the delay was needed to allow engineers to clear debris from the damaged wellhead caused by tropical storm Bonnie, which briefly halted spill operations.

But BP senior vice-president Kent Wells said the company was confident the static kill would proceed successfully.

A cap in place for two weeks has shown no sign of leaks, "giving us more confidence that this well has integrity," which is a positive sign for the operation, Wells said at a technical briefing last Friday.

Wells said BP hopes the static kill will be able to overcome the flow of oil, but that a second sealing method - via an intercept through a relief well - would go ahead afterwards regardless.

BP said the relief well is likely to intersect the existing well deep below the ocean floor within eight to 10 days, allowing the second sealing process - a bottom kill - by the end of August.