The cap atop the blowout preventer on the Deepwater Horizon well will remain closed — continuing to block the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico — until testing indicates oil is leaking from the well or somewhere else on the ocean’s floor, BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles said this morning.

“The well remains shut in,” Suttles said. “Pressure slowly continues to build at 1 to 2 (pounds per square inch) per hour.”

That pressure was at 6,778 psi this morning, still short of a 6,800 psi goal set by BP and federal officials as one sign of the cap’s success. Higher pressure is a good sign, as a drop in pressure might indicate that oil and gas might be escaping into a formation below the Gulf floor, and might escape into the water through a fissure.

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Deepwater Horizon well cap to remain closed indefinitely, but still considered a test

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