Top Kill Failed, BP Has New Strategy

BP’s latest attempt ‘Top Kill‘ has failed to stop the oil spill from April 20th in the Gulf of Mexico.  Now, they’re moving on to their next option.

Meanwhile the world is watching in hopes this will end as today marks the 40th day of the largest oil spill in American history.

MSNBC reports:

BP said Saturday that its “top kill” bid to plug the worst oil spill in U.S. history wasn’t working and that it would try another approach next.

“We have not been able to stop the flow,” BP PLC Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles told reporters. “We have made the decision to move onto the next option.”

A live feed of the leak showed preparations Saturday for BP’s next step. An underwater robot gripped a saw near the bent and leaking pipe, or riser, atop a failed blowout preventer. BP aims to slice off the pipe and place a cap and seal over the opening. The idea is to connect that to a new riser from the drillship above, with the hopes of capturing oil and natural gas.

That operation is known as the lower marine riser package, and Suttles confirmed that BP had been preparing for that step “all along.”

“We haven’t done it to this date because we needed the diagnostic data to make sure we didn’t make the situation worse,” Suttles said. The new capture approach follows two earlier failed attempts to siphon the oil via a large containment chamber and a smaller “top hat” system.

The new attempt would take four to seven days to complete, Suttles said.

“We’re confident the job will work but obviously we can’t guarantee success,” Suttles said of the new plan.

BP has said previously the company was “planning in parallel,” or getting ready for other options while working on the top kill — the injection of heavy fluid and materials to plug the well.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQYphrqg3Lo[/youtube]

Meanwhile BP’s credibility is at risk.  We can’t get a clear number as to how much oil has spilled into the Gulf.  Honesty has not been forthcoming. If BP’s estimate of the oil in the Gulf is low, it could save them millions in cour

Let’s just hope this ends quickly.