Something smells in the Gulf, but it's not all the dead fish and wildlife...
They capped the well, and planned on a 48 hour test, to see if it was going to work. Some very weird stuff is going on here. The cap has valves, and outlets to hook up pipe, so they could bring oil to the surface, cleaner than their usual way (let it spew). There were a lot of concerns about the pressure further damaging the well (shouldn't it have been able to withstand the pressure, before the explosion). The relief wells were on schedule for middle of next month, why take the risk? Why do they continue to test, well past 48 hours? They should be hooking up those pipes they have been using, and relieve as much pressure as they can through them. If the cap doesn't hold up, or new leaks form, we are much worse than before, the relief wells may not seal the deal. Likely another 2-3 months of oil spilling out of control. This is the first time they've actually almost have control over the well, and they are going to just sit on it, and see how long until it fails. Failure isn't an option, <censored>. There is no going back, at this point, only moving forward. BP seems to be just playing with this mess, just a learning experiment, like the anticipate more of these explosions in the future, and need to figure how to control them. Seems like it would be better to find ways to avoid making the mess in the first place.
My guess, is that soon as they are done playing around, and finally do plug the well, they will just pack up and leave. One minor compliment for Obama, least he got $20 billion out of them first. Unfortunately, I'm sure he already had plans on getting his share, just like the 'Bail-Out-Bucks), and I'd be a little disappoint in him, if people who are actually hurting from this, and really need some of that money, actually get the bulk of it.
Just seems that BP has gotten as close to controlling this thing, as they will likely get, sitting around isn't going to make it any safer. It can only get worse from here. They stopped the drilling, so who knows what's going to happen when they resume. Guessing the vibrations are going make most of their tests and readings meaningless. Really hope they hook up the pipes, and draw off as much oil as they can (less floating around the Gulf, if a bigger failure).