BP well no longer a 'threat'

2010-09-04 22:26

Washington - The Macondo well, which spilled an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, has been secured and no longer constitutes "a threat", a senior US official said on Saturday.

"I'm very pleased to announce that with the new blow-out preventer on this well, the cement that was previously put into this well, that this well does not constitute a threat to the Gulf of Mexico at this point," said Admiral Thad Allen, the US official overseeing the spill response.

A new valve, known as a blow-out preventer, was placed over the well on Friday, after crews removed the damaged device, which will now be examined by investigators looking into the causes of the disaster.

"We basically have secured this well as we would any well that was under production," Allen told reporters.

"We have essentially eliminated the threat of discharge from the well at this point."

- SAPA