BP Installs New Blowout Preventer In Gulf Coast

A new blowout preventer has been placed atop BP’s problem oil well, a move that should allow crews to drill into the well deep underground and kill it for good in about a week.

The old blowout preventer — a now-notorious piece of hardware that failed to stop a gusher that resulted in the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history — was removed early Friday afternoon. Thad Allen, the federal spill response chief, announced just before 10 p.m. CDT that the new, stronger blowout preventer had been successfully installed.

“This is an important milestone as we move toward completing the relief well and permanently killing the Macondo 252 well,” he said, referring to the name of the offshore prospect area where the well was drilled.