"If it is approved, it is a 100% chance we'll go ahead with it," Wells said during his daily technical briefing on the Macondo response.

The static kill option is an updated version of the ill-fated top kill maneuver unsuccessfully attempted at the end of May.

Since gaining control of the well last week, however, BP engineers believe lower pressures will allow them to use it again as a complement to intercepting the Macondo wellbore at the end of this month with a primary relief well.

The static kill would pump drilling mud and cement into the well, using the same entry points as the previously attempted top kill procedure. The materials would be forced into the choke and kill lines of the well's malfunctioning blowout preventer.

BP engineers and a government technical team continue to review the static kill procedure, and it must first be approved by US National Incident Commander Thad Allen.

Both Allen and Wells have projected a decision in the next day or so.

Meanwhile, Allen approved BP for another 24 hours of testing on Macondo, which has been temporarily capped.

Both Allen and Wells placed the latest Macondo pressure reading at 6,834 pounds per square inch.

Pressure has been stable in the 6,700 to 6,800 range since BP closed the well last Thursday to begin the pressure testing.

Both Allen and Wells described the static kill procedure as a maneuver to enhance and speed success with the relief well seen as the ultimate solution to Macondo.

They said BP expects to run the casing in its primary relief well Wednesday and Thursday with interception of the original Macondo wellbore expected by the end of the month.

"It is exactly where we want it, pointed in the right direction, and the intercept is for the end of July," Wells said.

But he warned it might take from days to weeks to kill Macondo once the intercept occurs, depending on the condition of the wellbore's outer layer.

As a result, he said the static kill could add pressure from the top to enhance the process.

"If the static kill kills the flow in the casing, then you would have all the flow stopped working in tandem," Wells said. "These can have the ability to have the well completely killed in less time and reduce the execution risk. It is clearly worth it to us."

Allen said the procedure, if approved, would not begin until after BP sets the casing in its relief well.

Warning that the detailed plan has not yet been presented, Allen said the preliminary idea would use the static kill to pump mud from the top, "increasing the chances of success" with the relief well.

"Static kill discussions are ongoing, and we will have a good idea in the next 24 hours for detailed plans from BP," Allen said.

--Gary Taylor, gary_taylor@platts.com