Overnight, engineers using remotely operated submersibles replaced equipment on the tight-sealing cap at the top of well, 5,000 feet under water, said Kent Wells, a senior vice president of the company.
The equipment, part of a choke line that will be the last valve to be closed during the test, had been found to be leaking late Wednesday.
With the repair made, “we’re looking to start this test as soon as we possibly can,” Mr. Wells said Thursday morning in a conference call with reporters.
While the faulty equipment was being swapped out, Mr. Wells said, containment systems that had been shut down Wednesday afternoon were restarted. That meant collection of oil began again, as did flaring of oil and gas from booms on two surface ships. The flames had been extinguished Wednesday in preparation for the test.
The test involves closing valves on the new cap, which was installed earlier in the week, to increase pressure in the well so that BP can assess its condition over the length of the well bore, which extends 13,000 feet below the seabed.
The delay for repairs was the second in as many days. On Tuesday, the government had asked BP to postpone the test for 24 hours while scientists reviewed the procedures. Officials were concerned about the possibility that the test itself might damage the well.
The decision was made to allow the test to begin Wednesday, with some modifications.
On Wednesday, Thad W. Allen, the retired Coast Guard admiral who is leading the response, said that the test results would provide crucial information about the well’s condition, and “would determine our confidence to shut the well in and understand we’re not harming the well bore.”
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