【英语国际】英国石油测试新设备 漏油事件或现转机

BP PLC prepared Tuesday to test a new tight-fitting containment cap that could stop the flow of oil from its blown-out well for the first time.

But even if the test fails, U.S. officials said the company could use the same cap to capture all of the oil flowing from the well by the end of the month.

Company engineers were due to begin pressure tests on the new cap late Tuesday, gradually closing its valves to shut down the flow of oil.

If the results are encouraging, they may soon be able to cap the gusher that has been spewing as much as 60,000 barrels a day into the Gulf and has defied BP's many efforts to contain it. The pressure tests could take between six and 48 hours, BP said.

But the company stressed the new system has never been deployed at such depths before and its success couldn't be ensured. Officials say that a relief well, which is still at least two weeks away from completion, is still the only way to permanently plug the leak.

Success at halting the leak could ease some of the pressure on BP over its handling of a spill that has devastated fishing and tourism along the Gulf Coast and thrown the U.S. offshore drilling industry into chaos.

BP shares rose 0.3% to $36.88 on the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, reflecting optimism that the finale of the Gulf oil disaster may be in sight. BP's stock has risen some 35% since hitting a 14-year low June 29 in the aftermath of the April 20 blowout that sank the Deepwater Horizon rig sank and prompted the spill.

The company said it has so far spent $3.5 billion on the cleanup. Last month, BP acceded to White House demands to set aside $20 billion in a special fund to compensate victims. And on Tuesday, the Obama administration handed the U.K. oil major its fourth cleanup bill, this one for $99.7 million.

The most important part of the new sealing mechanism -- a 'capping stack' -- was designed and fabricated from scratch at a facility in Berwick, La., owned by Cameron International Corp., and underwent rigorous testing on land before being deployed to the mile-deep well.

The stack, 18 feet tall and 75 tons, contains large hydraulic rams or valves like those used in blowout preventers -- the piece of equipment that sits on top of an oil well and is supposed to control unexpected surges of oil or gas. The valves would be gradually closed, choking off the flow.

周二，英国石油公司(BP PLC)准备首次测试一种新型的密封连接防漏罩。这种防漏罩有可能终止其爆裂油井的继续泄漏。

但即使测试失败，美国官员说英国石油公司到月底前也可利用这种防漏罩控制所有从油井中漏出的石油。

工程师们将于周二晚开始对这种新型防漏罩进行压力测试，并逐渐关闭其阀门以终止漏油。

如结果令人鼓舞，他们或许将很快能够终止油井的泄漏。这个油井目前每天向墨西哥湾泄漏高达60,000桶原油，英国石油公司多次努力均未能终止泄漏。英国石油公司说，压力测试耗时六至48小时。

但公司强调，新系统之前从未在这么深的地方使用过，因此不能确保成功。官员说减压井仍是永久终止漏油的唯一途径。但至少还要两周时间，减压井才能完工。

成功终止油井泄漏可减轻英国石油公司因处理漏油事件而承受的压力。这起漏油事件已经沉重打击了墨西哥湾沿岸的渔业和旅游业，并让美国的海底钻探业陷入混乱。

周二，英国石油公司的股票在纽约证券交易所上涨0.3%，至每股36.88美元，反映出人们对墨西哥湾漏油灾难即将迎来曙光表示乐观。4月20日深水地平线(Deepwater Horizon)钻井平台发生爆炸后沉没并造成油井泄漏，英国石油公司的股票于6月29日时触底至14年来的最低点。自那以后，英国石油公司的股价目前已经上升了约35%。

英国石油公司称迄今用于清理油污方面的支出已达35亿美元。上个月，英国石油公司同意白宫的要求，拨款200亿美元成立专项基金以补偿受害者。周二，奥巴马政府又向这个英国石油巨头提交了第四份油污清理账单，金额高达9,970万美元。

新密封设备的最重要部件──烟囱式密封罩是由Cameron International Corp.旗下位于路易斯安娜州的机构从零开始设计并制造的，在被安装到距海面一英里深的油井上之前，已在陆地上接受了严格的测试。

这个烟囱罩高18英尺，重75吨，内含与封井器所用部件类似的大型液压油缸和阀门。封井器通常安装在油井之上，用于控制石油或天然气的意外喷发。阀门将逐渐关闭从而终止石油泄漏。