Gulf Oil Spill, Bp Oil Spill Containment | featured news

After five months, the BP well that spewed millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico is on the verge of being plugged.

BP was working to remove the failed blowout preventer from its ruptured well  — a key step towards killing the well and salvaging evidence that could help in the inquiry into the disaster.

BP Plc said on Friday it has completed a pressure test on its blown-out Gulf of Mexico well and those results are under review by government scientists and the British oil company.

BP claimed a key victory Wednesday in the effort to plug its blown-out well as a government report said much of the spilled oil is gone — though what's left is still nearly five times the amount that poured from the Exxon Valdez.

Only about 26 percent of the oil from the Deepwater Horizon leak is still in the water or onshore, and most of it is diluted and breaking down rapidly, officials say.

A key two-step procedure to seal BP Plc.'s Macondo well could begin late on Monday, the top U.S. oil spill official said on Sunday.

One hundred days after an oil well operated by BP ruptured in the Gulf of Mexico, the man overseeing the federal response is optimistic that steps planned for the coming days will finally, permanently seal the well.

Engineers fighting the Gulf oil spill are confident that the cap over the well is strong enough that they may be able to plug it up soon.