By Gary Taylor in Houston

July 6 - National Incident Commander Thad Allen said on July 7 that BP has begun the process of hooking up the Helix producing unit to the "kill line" of the runaway Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico.

"There is a partial hookup right now and they can sustain that," Allen said at a press briefing. "They (BP) will hold on to what they have got. They are working as hard as possible to complete that connection. We won't know for several more hours" if the unit can be successfully and completely connected, he added, noting that completion of the task is, "weather dependent."

Allen, who was in Houston to meet with BP officials, noted that the Helix Producer system is designed to increase containment to 53,000 b/d. It had initially been scheduled to be installed on June 30, but that was delayed to July 7 because of Hurricane Alex.

The connection would join the Helix Producer on the surface with the kill line of the Macondo blowout preventer, providing a third method for containing part of the 35,000-60,000 b/d estimated to be leaking from the well since the April 20 blowout that destroyed Transocean's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig.

Two other containment devices have been diverting oil at a measurable rate of about 25,000 b/d, taking those volumes to two other vessels on the surface for collection or flaring.

In addition, BP also is working to attempt installation of what would be a fourth device designed to increase containment to a potential 80,000 b/d by the middle of July if the Coast Guard approves the plan.

 Ultimately, however, BP and the Coast Guard have said the only permanent solution lies with completion of one of two relief wells drilling to intercept Macondo on the sea floor 4,993 feet below the surface.

Although the first of the two relief wells is about a week ahead of schedule, Allen said again on Tuesday that he will not adjust the target date from the middle of August because the rest of the drilling requires meeting the most difficult challenge of actually intercepting the original Macondo wellbore.

In his meetings with BP in Houston this week, Allen will discuss the risks and rewards of proceeding with the fourth device, which would involve removal of a current cap and replacement with a tighter sealing model.

"The question is: 'Do we want to wait and look at capabilities of the Helix Producer?' Those are the issues I am here to discuss," Allen said.

If they successfully connect the Helix Producer and increase containment to the 53,000 b/d level, Allen said it might not be worth the risk of removing a cap that is working in a bid for a tighter fit from a new one.

But they won't know the results from the Helix Producer-connection effort for several hours.

"Two connections are required," he said, explaining that BP has already made a connection with the buoying system and needs only to hook with a flexible line.

He said: "They are in the process of doing that right now." But added the sea state is "right on the margin" of five feet, so the outcome remained uncertain headed into the evening.