Interior Department Declares Offshore Well-Capping System Test Successful

The Interior Department says a test of an offshore well capping system in the Gulf of Mexico was successful.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement says Noble Energy and the Helix Well Containment Group have shown the device could contain a deep-water blowout.

The unannounced test began April 30. It involved waters about a mile deep and pressures of 8,400 pounds per square inch. The device is 20 feet tall and weighs 146,000 pounds. It was not announced so that it would test the full mobilization capability of the system.