Has BP finally capped the Gulf gusher?
Deep-sea robots successfully placed a tight-fitting cap on the Gulf oil gusher. Will it hold?

BP says it has successfully fit a tighter cap on its gushing Gulf Coast oil well, raising hopes that the oil could be completely contained in a day or two. BP started slowly closing the three valves on the 75-ton cap Tuesday, to see if the well pressure builds and the cap holds, like on a bottle of soda, or if the oil is leaking through damaged well structures into the rock below. Closing the valves too fast would be like sending "a train running into a brick wall," says University of Houston geologist Don Van Nieuwenhuise. "You can keep the brakes on and everyone arrives alive." Even if BP stops the gusher, as everyone hopes, says Bryan Walsh in Time, the criticism of BP won't be capped: "Expect critics to question why BP didn't try this procedure from the beginning, rather than exhausting the full supply — top hat, top kill, bottom kill, junk shot — of deepwater drilling terminology." Here's a video about the capping procedure:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Musk vows DOGE pullback as Tesla profits plunge
Speed Read The Tesla SEO says he will soon step back from government matters to devote more time to the company
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Dozens dead in Kashmir as terrorists target tourists
Speed Read Visitors were taking pictures and riding ponies in a popular mountain town when assailants open fired, killing at least 26
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
IMF sees slump from tariffs, Trump tries to calm markets
Speed Read The International Monetary Fund predicts the U.S. and global economies will slow significantly due to the president's trade war
By Peter Weber, The Week US