Ed Note: Since that initial score, the well pressure has not gone above 7000 psi, though the scientists analyzing data say this might not be caused by leaks and could be a result of generalized pressure loss in the well…analysis will continue for the next 24 hours…

From the Times Picayune:

Pressure inside the blown out Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico is at about 6,700 pounds per square inch and slowly rising, BP Vice President Kent Wells said this morning.

BP shut in the well Thursday so that it no longer is shooting oil into the sea and is measuring pressure inside of it to determine if the well can remain closed.

Wells said six remote operated vehicles monitoring the site have not found signs of oil leaking out of the well and into the rock formation surrounding it. Oil in the rock formation would have been a sign that the well was damaged and would need to be reopened.

Later today BP will conduct a seismic survey of the site to determine if oil is leaking out lower in the well bore. The results of that survey won’t be available for 24 hours, Wells said.

Wells said pressure of 8,000 to 9,000 pounds per square inch would indicate that the well is completely in tact and signal that it can be left closed until a relief well pumps it with cement to permanently seal it next month. Pressure of lower than 6,000 psi, Wells said would indicate that the well does not have integrity and that oil is escaping through fissures somewhere along the well. In that instance the well would be reopened and oil would be pumped to vessels on the surface.

Pressure between those two numbers provide a grey area that needs “detailed analysis” by a team of scientists before a decision is made on how to proceed, Wells said.

Good luck to everyone in the Gulf Coast today, and here’s hoping that for possibly the first time since this all began, British Petroleum gets this one right…

Click the link for any further updates:

BP: Pressure inside the well rising

Good luck.

Have a nice day…