BP's "top Kill" Operation Slows Oil Spill In Gulf Of Mexico /Success! Operation Top Kill Stops the Gulf of Mexico Oil Leak

5/27/2010 11:47 AM ET (RTTNews) -
The dramatic operation "top kill" by British Petroleum to try and block the five week-old major oil spill from a damaged underwater rig in the Gulf of Mexico appears to have met with success on Thursday. United States Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, who is coordinating the government response to the Gulf oil spill, told media that the oil giant's "top kill" effort has "stabilized the wellhead," which is seen as a breakthrough in stemming the flow of oil from the well. However, he said it was too early to declare success. The well still has low pressure, but cement will be used to cap the well permanently as soon as the pressure hits zero, he added.

Admiral Allen said one ship that was pumping fluid into the well had run out of the fluid, or "mud," and a second ship was on the way. He is encouraged by the progress the team has made.
BP chief operating officer Doug Suttles said he believed mud, not oil, was now coming out of the ruptured pipe. He sounded optimistic when he said, "We can't fully confirm that because we can't sample it. And the way we know we've been successful is it stops flowing."
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Submitted by eBoom Staff on May 27, 2010
The Los Angeles Times is reporting that BP engineers have successfully stopped the flow of oil from the broken pipe that has been gushing oil into the Gulf of Mexico for more than a month.

Quoting the U.S. government's top oil spill commander, U.S. Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the paper said that the “top kill” procedure has blocked oil and gas from the well. Once the pressure has fallen to zero, engineers will pump cement into the hole to “entomb” the well.

Officials are cautioning though that the operation will not be considered a complete success until they have placed the cement cap on the well.