BP resumed collecting oil from its leaking Gulf of Mexico well today following a temporary setback as an opinion poll showed the environmental disaster is draining public confidence in US president Barack Obama.
Beleaguered coastal fishermen, cut off for weeks from the rich Gulf fishing grounds, were allowed back in some waters, and the Obama administration forged ahead with its spill-related legal battles.
The government sought to keep one of its key responses to the catastrophe in play and late last night appealed a court ruling that blocked its six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling.
The worst oil spill in US history has been thrust to the top of Mr Obama's crowded domestic agenda but a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found half of those surveyed disapproved of his handling of the spill.
Overall Mr Obama's rating stood at 45 per cent in the poll, down 5 points from early last month. For the first time in the survey, more people, or 48 per cent, say they disapprove of his job performance.
The government asked District Judge Martin Feldman in New Orleans to put his ruling against the moratorium on hold pending the appeal. The court had ruled the drilling ban was too far-reaching and not adequately justified despite the spill.
The justice department said in its filing that the temporary moratorium only affected 33 active deepwater drills in the Gulf of Mexico and the harm from another potential oil spill far outweighed those interests.
The "suspensions were issued to prevent the risk of more loss of life and long-term environmental and economic devastation like that arising from the Deepwater Horizon accident. In contrast, (the companies) have demonstrated a risk of short-term economic harm".
In addition to the appeal, interior secretary Ken Salazar said he would revise his original order suspending drilling below 500 feet of sea level (152 metres) to make it more flexible and thus address the court's concerns.
The government imposed a six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling after an offshore rig exploded on April 20th, killing 11 workers and rupturing BP's well.
Meanwhile, BP was capturing oil and gas again after it gushed largely unchecked for much of yesterday from the well after an undersea robot collided with a system intended to capture some of the gushing crude.
BP reinstalled the critical containment cap after several hours and it resumed oil and gas collection at midnight. The cap system installed on June 3rd captured 16,600 barrels on Tuesday, BP said.
A separate oil-flaring system that collected 10,500 barrels is still operating. A team of US scientists estimate the leak is spewing between 35,000 and 60,000 barrels a day.
The spreading oil slick has shut down rich fishing grounds, killed hundreds of turtles and seabirds and dozens of dolphins and soiled the coastlines of four US states.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said late last night that it had opened 8,000 square miles (20,700 kms) of previously closed fishing grounds in the Gulf because no oil was seen in the areas.
The areas in question were south of Mississippi and off the coasts of Louisiana and central Florida. About 32.5 per cent of federal waters in the Gulf remain closed, down from 36 per cent previously.
Reuters