BP Cap Collects 10,500 Barrels a Day
Coast Guard's Adm. Allen Sees Cleanup Continuing Into the Fall; 'This Is a War…Attacking Four States at One Time'
BP PLC said Sunday that a containment cap placed on its ruptured oil well a mile deep in the Gulf of Mexico collected 10,500 barrels of oil Saturday, marking a success after a string of failures in reducing the oil contaminating the Gulf.
The company, which has been castigated by federal and local officials for its inability to halt the leaking crude, said it hoped to increase the amount of oil funneled to the surface in the next few days. The amount captured Saturday was up from about 6,000 barrels on Friday.
Scientists led by the U.S. Geological Survey have estimated 12,000 to 19,000 barrels of oil a day, at a minimum, were gushing into the Gulf.
U.S. Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, in an interview with CBS's "Face the Nation," predicted Sunday that the oil-spill cleanup would last into the fall, even if the current effort to contain the leak worked.
