"As crews worked to hoist the blowout preventer that once sat atop BP’s stricken well to the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, the company prepared to complete the process of permanently plugging the well sometime this week, officials said Saturday.
The blowout preventer is a main piece of evidence in the investigation into what caused the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig on April 20, which killed 11 workers and resulted in the largest accidental oil spill in history. Federal officials will take possession of the device after it is recovered.
A new blowout preventer was attached to the wellhead late Friday night after crews removed the original damaged one earlier in the day, Thad W. Allen, the retired Coast Guard admiral who is leading the federal spill response, said in a statement. No oil or gas was released during the replacement procedure, he said. "
Henry Fountain reports for the New York Times September 4, 2010.
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