The US government yesterday allowed BP to extend for 24 hours the containment cap shutting off the leak from the Macondo well but voiced strong concern that oil was still seeping out.
The worries about the robustness of the measure prompted BP to cancel a press briefing after it had initially said that the well had been shut in, indicating a complete halt of the leak. BP also said the cap could remain in place until the completion of the relief well – the final solution – which is expected by mid-August. But US officials were quick to point out that it was up to them, not BP, whether the cap could stay in place.
The US government's initial concerns were raised late on Sunday in a letter from Admiral Thad Allen, the highest-ranking US official dealing with the day-to-day response in the US Gulf of Mexico.