Oil company BP may delay work to plug its Gulf of Mexico oil leak by up to 10 to 14 days if a northern Caribbean weather system strengthens and forces vessels at the spill site to move out of the way, the top official overseeing the spill response said today.
"Any operations out there would have to be suspended whether it's containment or the relief well," retired US Coast Guard admiral Thad Allen told reporters during a briefing.
Without weather delays, work could continue on the relief well and BP could start a "static kill" of the leak by this weekend, he said. This would involve pumping mud and cement into the top of its Gulf of Mexico well.
The company today rejected a report CEO Tony Hayward was to step down within the next 10 weeks.
There is a growing expectation that Mr Hayward would announce his departure in late August or September, the Times had reported, citing sources close to the company. Robert Dudley, chief of BP's Gulf Coast restoration efforts, is viewed as the front-runner to replace Mr Hayward, the paper added.
BP said last month that Mr Hayward, criticised for his response to the disaster that started on April 20th, was still CEO with no change under discussion.
Earlier this week, Adm Allen gave the company approval to extend a key pressure test on its capped Macondo well for another 24 hours despite finding five small leaks around the well. "We've found nothing that would be consequential toward the integrity of the wellhead to date," he told a Washington briefing.