If all went without the tiniest hiccup, something that never happens when you are drilling five miles below the surface, and if the drilling proceeded at 150 feet per day as it has been recently, they could drill to the targeted depth in just five more days.
The Plan B drill continued to lead the efforts to free the men, reaching a depth of 333 meters (1, 092 feet) on Thursday, the government's rescue coordinator Andre Sougarret said.
Shell says it's working at far less depth and lower pressures than the BP well that erupted off Louisiana, destroying the Deepwater Horizon drill rig and killing 11 men aboard.