(CNN) -- BP moved closer on Monday to sealing, once and for all, its ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico, though government and company officials said their struggle against the spill's extensive environmental and economic damage is far from over.
A relief well is expected to start the final shutdown within the week, said retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the government's point man in the region.
Allen said the closer of two relief wells alongside the capped, formerly gushing BP well in the Gulf is 17,909 feet deep and less than 100 feet from intercepting the main well. During the previous 72 to 96 hours, he said, crews had twice drilled for 30 feet at a time, then backed out and put wire down the pipe to gauge the exact location relative to the main well.
Allen said drillers would make "one more run," and hoped to intercept, then pump cement into, the main well as early as the end of the week, permanently sealing the crippled well.
Crews will have to keep a close watch on inclement weather while drilling. Strong thunderstorms and gusty winds are possible over the main well starting on Wednesday, said CNN meteorologist Sean Morris.
The National Hurricane Center said a broad area of low pressure over southern Florida is forecast to move slowly northwestward into the Gulf and toward the north-central Gulf Coast this week. The system has roughly a 30 percent chance of developing into a tropical cyclone in the next 48 hours, the center said. CNN
