"We want to meet or exceed all the UK regulations for achieving well integrity and making a leak-free well that is going to last 50 to 100 years," he added.
And the scale at play and prior trickle of revelations likely made a leak of significant size at some point unavoidable.
Former director of the CIA General Michael Hayden has told the BBC that the shift to sharing intelligence after the 11 September attacks made a leak of tens of thousands of secret US military documents "inevitable" - and it could happen again.
Oppenheimer and Bacher saw the evidence of a nuclear test as conclusive, and Bacher in particular came down strongly on the side of making a public announcement, as the number of people who already knew made a leak almost inevitable.
The pressure that these pipelines are under means that oil escaping from a very small leak can erode the steel at the leak, making a small leak much larger fairly quickly.
Make a tap leak ever so slightly maybe a drop every half minute or so.
Mr. Pippenger contacted Tyco Adhesives, which agreed to make a sturdier, leak-resistant tape for him.
The Obama administration nevertheless has charged him under the Espionage Act, which would restrict him from making a full case for his leaking to a jury.
They also complain that the intelligence arms of the military and the police do not share information until they are on the point of making a raid, for fear of leaks.
And the Takeover Panel is vigilant in forcing companies to acknowledge talks are occurring or an approach has been made once a leak occurs.
