BP ‘top kill’ fails

US: BP Plc said Saturday the complex “top kill” maneuver to plug its Gulf of Mexico oil well has failed, crushing hopes for a quick end to the largest oil spill in US history already in its 40th day. The beleaguered London-based energy giant said its next option is a “lower marine riser package” that will not plug the well ruptured in a rig blast, but rather capture most of the oil on the sea floor and channel it to the surface for collection.

BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward called the containment cap “the best way to minimize the flow of oil into the Gulf” and said it would take around four days to put it in place.

Hayward had given top kill a 60 to 70 percent chance of success, but the procedure was fraught with risk because it had never been attempted at the depth of the well, a mile (1.6 km) beneath the sea. “I am disappointed this operation did not work,” Hayward said in a statement.

“The team executed the operation perfectly and the technology worked without a single hitch.” The news was a blow to Gulf coast residents, whose communities are still on the mend from the 2005 Hurricane Katrina and now have to contend with oil invading fragile marshlands and waters vital to wildlife and a lucrative commercial fishing industry.

Louisiana’s Plaquemines Parish president Billy Nungesser was about to address a crowd when he got news of the top kill failure.

“I didn’t have the heart to tell them it didn’t work,” Nungesser told CNN.

The news also spells more trouble for U.S. President Barack Obama, who is struggling to convince Americans that his administration can handle the crisis. The plodding clean-up effort has sickened workers and left Gulf coast residents frustrated and angry.

Venice, Sunday, Reuters