Transferring oil from broken well an option for BP

The first of two relief wells being drilled to stop the Gulf of Mexico oil gusher could be done by the end of the month, BP officials say; but if that doesn’t succeed, one backup being considered is transferring the crude to non-producing underwater wells that are miles away. BP would run the flow through pipelines across the floor of the gulf, says retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the Obama administration’s point man on the crisis. “That would take some construction and some time. It would probably move us into the late-August timeframe,” Allen says. Still, the best hope to stop the spewing oil from the blown-out well a mile under the sea is the relief wells. Though officials said the first could be finished by the end of July, weeks ahead of schedule, they are quick to point out that such an optimistic timetable would require ideal conditions every step of the way. That is something that has rarely happened since the leak began more than two and a half months ago with the deadly explosion of the rig Deepwater Horizon 50 miles off the Louisiana coast. Allen says crews expect to intercept and penetrate the pipe from the Deepwater Horizon about 18,000 feet below sea level in seven to 10 days. The drilling crew is attempting to hit a target the size of a dinner plate at a depth where water pressure is great enough to crush a submarine.