Claims cap may halt oil until well is plugged

BP hopes to keep using its giant stopper to block oil from reaching the Gulf of Mexico until they plug the blown-out well permanently, the company said yesterday.

“No one associated with this whole activity... wants to see any more oil flow into the Gulf of Mexico,” said Doug Suttles, BP’s chief operating officer. “Right now, we don’t have a target to return the well to flow.”

Retired US Coast Guard admiral Thad Allen outlined a different plan on Saturday, saying that after the test was complete, the cap would be hooked up through nearly a mile of pipes stretching to ships on the surface that will collect the oil.