UPDATE: BP Shares Fall On Worries Over Well Cap Test

19th Jul 2010 08:22

(Adds share price update.) By James Herron Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--BP PLC (BP) said tests on a well cap that has halted the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico for several days continue to behave as expected, but the company's shares dropped almost 4% in London Monday after U.S. authorities raised concerns that hydrocarbons may be leaking from the sea bed near the Macondo well. At 0710 GMT BP shares were down 3.7%, or 15 pence, at 392 pence. The pressure in the capped well is 6,792 pounds per square inch and continues to rise slowly, BP said. Rising pressure at the well head should indicate that there are no hydrocarbon leaks from other locations on the well bore. However, the top U.S. government official overseeing the oil spill response effort asked BP late Sunday to closely monitor hydrocarbons seeping from the sea bed some distance from the Macondo well to ensure that the well bore has not ruptured. "Given the current observations from the test, including the detected seep a distance from the well and undetermined anomalies at the well head, monitoring of the seabed is of paramount importance during the test period," U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen said in a letter to BP Chief Managing Director Bob Dudley. Allen asked BP to have in place a plan to reopen the well cap as quickly as possible in case the well bore is shown to be damaged. BP said it should have two vessels, the Q4000 and the Helix Producer, in place to capture between 28,000 and 33,000 barrels a day of oil from the well if the cap has to be reopened. "Plans continue for additional containment capacity and flexibility that are expected to ultimately increase recoverable oil volumes to 60,000-80,000 barrels a day," BP said. The oil spill has cost BP $3.95 billion to date, the company said. BP shares have risen by almost a third from their low point on June 29 as the company has made progress containing the spill. -By James Herron, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)20 7842 9317; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 19, 2010 03:22 ET (07:22 GMT)