BP says it will permanently cap well leaking into the Gulf, never try to produce oil from it

BP says it will permanently cap leaking well

NEW ORLEANS — BP says it will never again try to produce oil through a blown-out well that’s been gushing into the Gulf of Mexico for nearly a month.

The oil has been leaking since an offshore drilling rig exploded and sank off the coast of Louisiana last month.

BP has been trying a variety of techniques to suck up the oil ever since. One finally started this working this week, but it’s still only capturing a fraction of the oil.

BP PLC chief operating officer Doug Suttles says the company will never again try to produce oil through the well. He says the right thing to do is plug the well.

BP did not rule out the company drilling elsewhere to tap the same reservoir.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — BP says it has started drilling a second relief well at the site where an offshore oil rig exploded off the coast of Louisiana.

Rig operator BP PLC, which is responsible for the clean-up, is using a long tube to siphon some of the oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, but the relief wells are a more permanent solution.

It will be months before they’re complete. Drilling on the original relief well has been underway for weeks. The second is a back-up well.

BP is also getting ready to try a procedure known as a top-kill that uses a tube to shoot mud and concrete directly into a device on the well known as the blowout preventer.

The process would take two to three weeks and BP hopes it would stop the flow of oil. But the relief wells will be drilled either way.