BP said that it might still attempt the first of two operations to permanently plug its ruptured Gulf of Mexico well on Tuesday despite the technical delay of a crucial test.

Optimism about the planned “static kill,” which will involve the injection of drilling mud into the top of the well. But BP said a test ahead of the operation, which had been planned for Monday, would now likely take place Tuesday because a hydraulic leak was detected. BP had been aiming to begin the static kill itself on Tuesday and remained cautiously optimistic it could still do so.

“It is anticipated that the injectivity test and possibly the static kill will take place Tuesday,” BP said in a brief statement late on Monday. The well was temporarily sealed two weeks ago but the static kill followed by the completion of a relief well later in August are seen as the permanent solutions to the leaking well, which US government scientists estimate has released almost 5 million barrels of oil since late April.

The worst oil spill in US history has been an environmental and economic nightmare for the Gulf coast and even if the crude is no longer flowing unchecked, the legal and political fall-out is still spreading unabated. At the same time, the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating insider trading in shares of BP, including whether BP employees profited illegally from the spill.

The full extent of the disaster was given added clarity on Monday when US government scientists refined estimates of how much oil had flowed into the Gulf from the well. The Flow Rate Technical Group and a team of scientists with the US Department of Energy say 4.9 million barrels of oil have been released. The flow rate was put at 62,000 barrels a day at the start of the spill in late April. That rate dropped to 53,000 barrels a day immediately before the well was sealed on 15 July, the group said. Officials also said BP had siphoned about 16 per cent of the 4.9 million barrels to vessels at the ocean’s surface, but the rest went into the sea.
The group’s previous leak estimate ranged from 35,000 to 60,000 barrels a day.

Investors will scrutinize these figures closely as BP’s final costs may be tied to how much oil is estimated to have flowed into the Gulf from the spill. BP has already announced plans to sell  US $30 billion in assets over the next 18 months to help cover its liabilities related to the disaster.

Also Read

• BP kills Gulf of Mexico well
• BP cements Gulf oil well ahead of permanent plug
• Chevron confirms Gulf of Mexico oil leak
• BP captures more oil from broken Gulf of Mexico well
• BP has so far spent US $1.6 billion on Gulf of Mexico oil spill