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United States News Title: Gulf Oil Well Will Remain Capped Through Storm: Official The cap sealing the Gulf of Mexico oil well will remain on even if the site has to be evacuated because of a looming storm, top US official Admiral Thad Allen said Thursday. Allen said the decision on whether to evacuate the site and pack up drilling vessels and scores of other vessels would be taken later Thursday but the well would stay sealed regardless. "Based on the recommendations of Doctor Stephen Chu, the Secretary of Energy, and the science team we have determined that if we have to evacuate the site we are prepared to leave the well capped," he said. Officials hoped to keep some vessels on the scene in the case of an evacuation so they could continue to run the remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) that have been monitoring the seabed for any signs of leaking crude. Allen said the latest forecast showed the storm hitting the area on Saturday morning and passing by some 24 hours later, possibly whipping up high seas that would force vessels including drilling rigs to be evacuated. "During that time it is very possible that we will have wave heights that would exceed the operation envelope for all platforms," he said. "So while this is not a hurricane it is a storm that will have probably some significant impacts and we are taking appropriate cautions." A decision on whether the drilling rigs would be evacuated -- they are the vessels that take the longest to get safely to shore -- along with scores of other platforms and vessels was expected later Thursday. "We believe that somewhere around 8 o'clock tonight we'll be at a decision threshold," said Allen. "We are making preparations in the event the weather will force us to move the drilling rigs." Work on the casing of the relief well -- which should intercept the damaged well in the coming weeks and allow it to be permanently filled in with cement -- has been suspended due to the storm preparations. Once the cement around the casing has dried, which takes about five to seven days, officials hope to perform a "static kill" to plug the well by injecting heavy drilling mud and cement through the cap at the top. The final operation to cement the reservoir once and for all with the relief well would be expected five to seven days after that. "Obviously that entire process now will be offset by whatever days we lose if we have to detach and move off scene," said Allen. Allen said BP no longer had to receive authorization from the government every 24 hours and the cap could stay on permanently as long as the British energy giant notified officials of any anomalies within four hours. "They can proceed as long as the protocols are met and we will respond to and follow up on anomalies," he said. Allen added that the deciding factor for any evacuation would be whether the current tropical depression bearing down on Louisiana is upgraded to a Tropical Storm with winds above 39 miles (63 kilometers) per hour.
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