BP chief executive Tony Hayward said yesterday that a dome lowered into the Gulf of Mexico to try to control a gushing leak from a ruptured deepwater oil well was close to reaching the leak.
But, in an interview with CNN, he made it clear that success in the complex operation taking place almost 1.6km under the surface was not guaranteed.
BP is desperately trying to contain a huge oil spill that threatens an environmental catastrophe on US Gulf shores.
BP engineers are using undersea robots to position the massive metal chamber above the bigger of two leaks from the well riser pipe.
If connected successfully, it is hoped the device could pump oil from the leak to a surface tanker, capturing about 85 per cent of the total gushing crude. – (Reuters)