BP resumes work on relief well

MSNBC reports: Ships were getting back in place yesterday at the Gulf of Mexico site of BP's leaky oil well as crews restarted work on plugging the gusher before another big storm stops work again.

Piping for the main relief well being drilled was being reinstalled and should be ready by late afternoon, National Incident Commander Thad Allen told reporters Sunday. Drilling will resume once the piping is latched onto the well, and that should be around midnight, he added.

The piping had been pulled up from the sea floor as a precaution due to Tropical Storm Bonnie.

Allen added that "no anomalies" were seen around the stack that is containing the busted well and that pressure was still building, a sign that the well casing is holding and not leaking the oil somewhere else.

Once the last bit of pipe, or casing, is cemented in place near the bottom of the relief well this week, BP will begin a "static kill" the first week of August, Allen said.

"Generally the next week will be preps, making sure everything is ready to go," he said.

Allen had said the static kill, which involves pumping heavy drilling mud and cement into the well from the top, could start later this week after the casing is cemented in the relief well.