Asia-Pacific

BP exec avoids question on relief well completion

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-08-27 09:23

HOUSTON - A senior BP executive is again avoiding committing the oil giant to using relief wells to seal to the Gulf of Mexico well that blew out in April.

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Senior Vice President Kent Wells on Thursday skirted questions by federal investigators on whether the oil giant will proceed with the relief wells. He told the investigators probing the April 20 explosion that killed 11 people that there are "multiple options" to stop the oil. He says the relief wells are "the ultimate backup if everything else fails."

Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the government's point man on spill response, has insisted the relief wells would be the final solution.

However, BP said in a statement that the company and Allen "remain aligned regarding relief well plans."