BP oil leak will finally be plugged after five weeks

12 April 2012

The world's worst oil spill will finally be "under control" within hours, the US Coast Guard said today.

A last-ditch attempt to plug the spill that followed an explosion on BP's Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico appears to have worked, authorities claimed. The oil giant's shares soared five per cent on the news.

The blast, on April 20, killed 11 oil workers. At least seven million gallons of oil have spilled out, damaging marine life and the delicate ecosystem along more than 100 miles of coast.

Last night ships started pumping mud into the well to plug the leak in a technique known as "top kill". Reports say that when the well pressure hits zero, cement will be used as a permanent cap.

One ship that was pumping fluid into the well ran out of the fluid and had to be replaced. Coast Guard admiral Thad Allen said ships had pumped enough drilling fluid to block all oil and gas from the well.

Meanwhile, it is alleged that BP used cheaper casings to prevent gas from leaking into the well at the heart of the spill. BP described the approach to finishing the well as the "best economic case", in a document allegedly seen by US Congress.

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