Where’s BP’s Well Integrity Data?

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


BP’s latest attempt to cap the Gulf gusher was put on hold Wednesday afternoon amid questions about whether the company could safely contain the leak without making the disaster worse. The 150,000-pound “capping stack” is in place, but more tests are being conducted to make sure it doesn’t create too much pressure on the well. A well integrity test, meant to ensure that the well can withstand the pressure created by the cap, was supposed to be completed yesterday, but is on hold.

The state of the wellbore has been in question for some time; incident commander Thad Allen said last month that that its condition is unknown. The worry is that more pressure might further damage the wellbore, causing even more oil to spew into the Gulf. Current estimates range from 35,000 barrels per day to 60,000. But internal BP documents estimate that up to 100,000 barrels per day could come from the gusher if the wellbore is further compromised.

Last month, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) asked BP to provide information about the status of the wellbore, but the company has not yet responded. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) sent a similar letter to BP on June 2; his spokesman confirmed today that they, too, have not received a response from BP despite having “asked them about it many times since.”

Markey sent a second letter today, again asking for more information about the condition:

Please provide documents related to the condition of the wellbore.

—Has BP attempted to determine whether the casing inside the wellbore has been damaged and if so, what were the results? Please provide all measurements, images, and other documents related to the condition of the wellbore, as well as any future plans for such measurements going forward.

—Has BP confirmed or attempted to confirm the presence of hydrocarbons leaking from anywhere other than the containment cap? If so, what were the results? Please provide all related documents.

—Has BP surveyed the vicinity of the well to look for any leaks from the sea floor? If so, what area was surveyed? Please provide all measurements, images, and other documents related to any survey(s) to identify hydrocarbon leakage from the sea floor. If no survey has been performed, why not?

Markey also notes that the administration has been provided with this information, but it hasn’t been made public. He also sent a letter to Allen asking him to make public what they know about the well’s integrity.

WE'LL BE BLUNT:

We need to start raising significantly more in donations from our online community of readers, especially from those who read Mother Jones regularly but have never decided to pitch in because you figured others always will. We also need long-time and new donors, everyone, to keep showing up for us.

In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't find elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

payment methods

WE'LL BE BLUNT

We need to start raising significantly more in donations from our online community of readers, especially from those who read Mother Jones regularly but have never decided to pitch in because you figured others always will. We also need long-time and new donors, everyone, to keep showing up for us.

In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate