Crisis In The Gulf: The 2010 Oil Spill

BP on Wednesday said its “static kill” operation to stem the leak at its Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico appeared to have succeeded, a step the UK energy group described as a “significant milestone”.

Nearly three-fourths of oil from the BP spill is gone from the Gulf of Mexico, with 26 percent remaining as a sheen or tarballs, buried in sediment or washed ashore, U.S. scientists said Wednesday.

Nearly five million barrels of oil have gushed from BP’s well, federal scientists said, announcing the most precise estimates yet of the flow. The number would make it the biggest known spill into marine waters. The NYT reports.

BP aims to conduct tests Monday before conducting a "static kill" on its Gulf of Mexico oil leak Tuesday, a company executive said.

A hundred and one days into BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the top U.S. official overseeing the spill response said Wednesday he was confident a relief well preceded by a so-called "static kill'' would plug the leak for good.