Here is a much expanded synopsis of the well from the first attempt in Oct. 09 until the explosion on Apr. 20, 2010.
A few excerpts:
BP started working on the well in October, using a different rig. After three weeks natural gas got into the well, called a "kick." That's not uncommon. But two weeks later a hurricane damaged the rig and it had to be towed to port for repairs.
BP started again in January, this time with Transocean's Deepwater Horizon, a warhorse rig that had worked for BP for years. BP filed a new drilling permit with federal regulators ......
March 8, 2010.......
That day, workers discovered that gas was seeping into the well, according to drilling reports from the rig reviewed by the Journal. Workers lowered a measuring device to determine what was happening, but when they tried to pull it back up, it wouldn't budge. Engineers eventually told them to plug the last 2,000 feet of the then-13,000-foot hole with cement and continue the well by drilling off in a different direction.......
Other problems arose. The rock was so brittle drilling mud cracked it open and escaped. One person familiar with the matter estimates BP lost at least $15 million worth of the fluid......
end excerpts.....
Good linked article. Thanks!
For all those who want to nuke the thing - If mud is cracking the rock, imagine what a nuke would do