E2 Round-up: Obama readies new offshore safety mandates, BP readies ‘top kill’ Wednesday, and more questions about Interior’s drilling permit ban

BP hopes to begin trying to plug the gushing well with a ‘top kill’ Wednesday

“BP Plc is carrying out final tests at a damaged oil well in the Gulf of Mexico before attempting an unprecedented operation that may be its last opportunity before August to halt the monthlong spill,” Bloomberg reports, noting the procedure may take two days.

The oil giant will attempt to pump dense drilling mud into the well and then seal it. The company warned in a statement Wednesday that “This top kill procedure has not been carried out offshore at 5,000 feet water depth before, and its success cannot be assured.”

CNN notes that “BP Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward has given the ‘top kill’ maneuver a 60 to 70 percent chance of success.”

Update: Hayward said shortly after 7 a.m. on NBC Wednesday morning that tests remain ongoing. He expects to be in a “position to notify” later in the day about whether the effort will proceed Wednesday.

If the top kill fails, it may be months before the flow is stopped. The company has begun drilling “relief wells” that are considered a near-certain way to end the gusher, but that could take until August.

Reuters, however, reports that BP will try other steps quickly if the top kill doesn’t work. “BP has other options if the top kill fails, including the installation of a new dome and a new blow-out preventer over the old one that failed in the rig explosion,” the wire service reports.

Report: Offshore drilling permit halt was a verbal order

The Interior Department has faced questions about the ban on new offshore drilling permits ordered in the wake of the Gulf oil spill.

“President Obama’s moratorium on new offshore oil drilling has turned out to be more complicated than it first seemed. The Minerals Management Service (MMS) has issued at least 17 drilling permits in the past month. Administration officials say those permits do not violate the ban. But the moratorium was not put into writing, which can make the details of the drilling freeze difficult to assess,” National Public Radio reports.

The Center for Biological Diversity, which has long been critical of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, attacked him anew early Wednesday.

“Under pressure from the oil industry and an agency he seems incapable of controlling, Secretary Salazar has watered down the drilling moratorium to a point where it is virtually meaningless,” said Kieran Suckling, the group’s executive director.

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