Ships and workers moved back into the Gulf of Mexico oil spill site today as seas calmed, and BP could begin pumping mud into the blown-out well later this week in a bid to plug the gusher.
As remnants of Tropical Depression Bonnie dissipated over the Gulf on Saturday, retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, head of the US spill response, said a "static kill" operation to plug the well by pumping in heavy drilling mud and possibly cement could start in three to five days. "The 'static kill' could go very quickly," Allen said.
The rig drilling a relief well intended to permanently stop the leak was back in place at the spill site, although Allen said the storm could push back BP's mid-August target date for completing it back seven to nine days.
BP sealed the leak on July 15th with a tight-fitting containment cap, choking off the flow of oil for the first time since an April 20th rig explosion killed 11 workers and sent crude spewing into the Gulf, soiling coastlines in five U.S. states and devastating tourism and fishery industries.
As the storm threat passed, the independent administrator running a $20 billion fund set up by BP to compensate people for financial losses from the spill said the British energy giant was holding up payments to economic victims.
"I have a concern that BP is stalling claims. ... I doubt they are stalling for money. It's not that. I just don't think they know the answers to the questions" from claimants, Kenneth Feinberg told reporters on Saturday in Alabama.
Thousands of businesses in Gulf Coast states have been crippled by the spill, the worst in US history. BP agreed to set up the $20 billion fund under pressure from President Barack Obama.
At a town hall meeting in southern Alabama, fishermen and other business owners told Feinberg of their frustration and anger at what they say is a slow and complex claims process that lacks transparency.
"After today there will be no more business as usual. I learned today the depth of frustration in people here on the coast," Feinberg told the meeting.