Oil Spill Containment | featured news

BP Plc said on Thursday it stopped the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico from its deep-sea well for the first time since it ruptured in April, prompting hope that the leak can be plugged for good.

After day of delay, firm gets go ahead to run test, which will close down the flow of oil well in a series of steps as officials closely monitor pressure.

The Gulf oil spill appears to have been stopped by the latest containment cap, according to unconfirmed reports from PBS Newshour and CNN.

BP said today its attempt to place a new cap on its ruptured undersea well was proceeding as planned. But while robots replace the old cap, crude is flowing freely.

The federal official leading the Gulf oil spill cleanup said Friday a new containment cap and an additional ship collecting oil could effectively contain the spill in the next three days.

"Bottom kill" -- a massive dose of mud and cement shot through a relief well to stop the gushing of oil -- could take place before by July 20, BP says.

The cap on the damaged BP oil well at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico is now keeping up to 462,000 gallons of oil a day from leaking into the ...

BP reported some oil was flowing up a pipe Friday from a cap it wrestled onto its broken Gulf of Mexico well but crude still spewed and it was ...

BP used giant shears to slice off a pipe Thursday in the company's latest bid to contain the Gulf of Mexico oil, but the cut was irregular and placing a cap over the gusher will now be more challenging, Coast Guard Adm.

The chatter began weeks ago as armchair engineers brainstormed for ways to stop the torrent of oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico: What about nuking the well?

Decades ago, the Soviet Union reportedly used nuclear blasts to successfully seal off runaway gas wells, inserting a bomb deep underground and letting its fiery heat melt the surrounding rock to shut off the flow. Why not try it here?