BP claims milestone in oil spill clean-up

BP claimed a key milestone yesterday in the effort to plug its blown-out well as a government report said much of the spilled oil is gone, heartening officials who have taken heat during the tricky clean-up but leaving some Gulf Coast residents still sceptical.

BP reported that mud that forced down the well overnight was pushing the crude back down its source for the first time since the Deepwater Horizon rigexploded off Louisianaon April 20, killing 11 workers.

A federal report released yesterday indicated that only about a quarter of the spilled oil remains in the Gulf, with the rest having been contained, cleaned up or otherwise disappeared.