Containment Cap on the Well

Jane Van Ryan
Posted June 4, 2010

BP and a team of engineers have lowered the containment cap on the blowout preventer.

Doug Suttles, BP chief operating officer, says the next step is to close the vents at the top of the cap, which should greatly reduce the amount of oil and gas escaping from the well. If the procedure is successful, the vast majority of the oil and gas will travel from the cap up through a new riser to a drill ship for processing.

Click on the image above for an animation that explains the entire process.