Page 10 - Pressure Tests News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Initial hydrocarbons, when we can't tell is the current condition of the well board below the sea floor. >> reporter: pressure readings will help determine whether the well is strong enough to hold up against the heavy drilling mud that b.p. wants to bump through a relief well in august to shut down the leaking well once and for all. the pressure tests will also give officials a more accurate estimate of how much oil has already spilled in the gulf, giving coastal residents a better idea how much longer oil continues to disrupt their fisheries, beaches and even mundane aspect of lives they onc...

Messages. >> shepard: is shepard smith from fox news. we are preempting the commercial break to let you know these pictures indicate bp has been able to get the containment cap back in place over the gusher in the gulf of mexico. we are now led to believe that tomorrow there will be pressure tests of this brand new cap to see if they can't once and for all contain the gusher in the gulf. sources tell fox news there was over the last hour great excitement in command headquarters across the bp area there along the gulf south. we know that these pressure containment tests will begin tomorrow. rig...

>> chris, this could be a very significant day in the life span of this crisis because it's conceivable today for the first time in almost three months bp may be able to stop the flow of new oil into the waters of the gulf here. now, as you mentioned last night they placed this new cap on top of the well. it's designed to completely seal off that leak and what they're doing today and what they will be doing perhaps for the next few days is testing that. they're running some pressure tests and shutting down the valves of this new cap, as well, as temporarily shutting down the surface containmen...

There. but they did confirm that the cap is, in fact, on top of that well. i want to bring in jonathan serrie. is he live on scene down there. jonathan, this means they can begin tomorrow with these pressure tests to see, in fact, how stable this connection is going to be, right? >> indeed. they want to test the integrity both of the cap and also of the well itself. so they are going to be shutting several valves. they will see if any other leaks appear within the well. they also will see how the cap responds at that depth. they have never used this type of technology at a depth of 5,000 feet....

The people in charge confident the cap will work? >> they seem very confident about the cap. it's the well they're worried about. they're conducting pressure tests. if they get high pressure readings in the cap when they close the valves, that's good. it means it's holding back oil in the well. if they get a low pressure reading there may be a leak in other place. they want to test the integrity of the well to make sure it with stands the drilling mud they want to pump in in august when they seal the leak. >> last night we got word from sources at the command center that there was a great deal...