BP vs. the feds

This Reuters story by By Tom Bergin and Chris Baltimore, Investors worry about seepage at capped BP well 07/19/2010, starts bringing the indications of a BP split with the federal government over how to stop the oil geyser permanently out from "between the lines" into the text:

U.S. authorities probing the spill are looking into why workers missed signs of an impending explosion and have drawn up a list of more than 20 anomalies in the crew's response to them, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The current plan had been for BP to resume siphoning the oil after the completion of the pressure tests on the well, which extends 2.5 miles under the seabed, to judge if it is able to withstand the process to seal the leak.

But Doug Suttles, BP's chief operating officer, said the company now hopes to keep the damaged well shut until the relief well is completed in August and the leak is sealed off with heavy drilling mud and cement.

"We're hopeful that if the encouraging signs continue that we'll be able to continue the integrity test all the way to the point that we get the well killed," he told reporters before Allen issued his statement. "Clearly we don't want to reanimate flow into the Gulf if we don't have to."

Suttles' statement could indicate diverging viewpoints between BP and the U.S. government on plans for the well integrity test. It prompted Allen -- who will ultimately make the final call on the test -- to issue a statement that "nothing had changed" in the joint plan.

Tags: bp oil disaster