Press Release from DEP:
Static kill, the operation planned to plug the Deepwater Horizon well, is scheduled to begin this week. Static kill involves pumping a steady stream of heavy drilling mud, followed by cement, down through the well cap and into the well bore. Following this operation, a relief well is expected to pump cement into the well bore to push oil back into the reservoir, ultimately sealing the well.
Before the static kill operation can begin, an injectivity test, in which base oil will be pumped into the ruptured well bore, will be conducted to determine whether the oil will go back into the reservoir.The test will start with pumping one barrel per minute, then two, then three. How much is pumped will depend on how the test goes. The test is meant to help officials decide whether adjustments need to be made on how and if the static kill will proceed.
The static kill will be followed by a final “bottom kill,” after a relief well intercepts the crippled well. If the injectivity test is not successful, the static kill procedure would be skipped and the bottom kill effort would proceed. View a video regarding static kill operations here.
Current Situation:
- The State Emergency Operations Center is activated at Level 1 or full activation.
- The State continues to focus on mitigating impacts to Florida’s shoreline.
- The coastal state waters previously closed to the harvest of saltwater fish were reopened on July 31. The area will remain closed to the harvest of shrimp and crabs pending additional testing. Learn more.
- Currently Deepwater Horizon is not discharging any oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
- State reconnaissance teams operating by air, land and sea continue to identify potential impacts and are actively coordinating with cleanup teams. View the latest reconnaissance reports.
- Although sporadic sightings of tar balls may continue, Florida’s shoreline is not expected to receive additional impacts over the next 72 hours.
- At 5:00 a.m., Tropical Depression #4 was designated as Tropical Storm Colin with maximum sustained winds near 40mph. Colin is moving rapidly west-northwest near 23mph and is expected to move north of the Leeward Islands and then between the Bahamas and Bermuda this week. The five day error cone is more than 300 miles east of Florida. Elsewhere, a tropical wave over eastern Caribbean Sea is disorganized and there is only a 20 percent chance of development through the next 48 hours.
- Oil Impact Notices are posted for all Escambia County and Walton County Gulf beaches, as well as designated beaches in Okaloosa County. Signs may remain in place until local authorities determine that beaches are no longer impacted by the oil spill. Learn more.