The latest report from the BP well – which is now completely shut in – is that the pressure is at 6800 PSI…
From what was known before the accident, the pool at the bottom of the well is around 8000-9000 PSI. The bottom of the well is much smaller than the top, so it will take a day or two for oil and gas to repressurize the entire 13,000 feet of well casing.
The BOP is rated only to about 10,000 PSI from something I read (not confirmed).
If the pressure goes up around 9000 PSI and stays there, then the well is intact, and all that is left to do is seal it (or produce from it if it wasn’t politically impossible).
If the pressure stops about where it is now, that means it is leaking somewhere under the ground and that’s a big problem. That means oil and gas is leaking out and could cause a rupture of the ground, which would be a really bad outcome.
It’s also conceivable as the pressure builds, that something will explode similar to the original explosion, and could blow the BOP off of the casing. The relief well is ready to go if that were to happen (assuming that the drilling ship was not damaged). They have to be very careful to not just repeat the original mistakes with the second well.
