US President Barack Obama said BP’s breakthrough in temporarily stopping the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico was “good news” – but warned there was still lots to do.
He said yesterday that testing was continuing to determine whether the new containment cap sealing the well could stay in place.
Mr Obama said that BP would “pay for the damage it has caused” and advised caution over early hopes for the progress in ending the leak.
“We won’t be done until we know we have killed the well and have a permanent structure in place,” he added.
BP said on Thursday night that the leaking well had been sealed with a containment cap. The cap is now being pressure tested.
Low pressure would be bad news as it could mean more leaks further down in the well.
A BP spokeswoman said: “Information gathered during the test will be reviewed with the relevant government agencies, including the federal science team, to determine next steps.”
Underwater robots have scanned the sea floor for signs of further oil leaks.
BP's senior vice-president of exploration and production Kent Wells said: “We've seen no negative evidence of any breaching there.”
Relief wells being drilled miles beneath the seabed are the only means of permanently sealing and isolating the damaged well.
The disaster began when the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20, killing 11 workers.
BP’s shares dipped below 300p at one stage last month – their lowest point since August 1996 – but have recovered to more than 400p amid signs that it is closer to tackling the crisis, which has so far cost £2.3billion in spillage and clean-up.
BP is vital to the UK not only as an employer but also as a major taxpayer and contributor to pensions. Of every £7 paid into pensions from dividends, £1 comes directly from BP, and last year it paid £5.8billion in taxes.
This year BP is not paying a dividend for the first time since World War II, although it insists it is financially strong enough to tackle the spill.
The group has paid out about £110million in claims to 52,000 businesses so far, although the intense political pressure on the oil giant eased after it set aside a £13.2billion compensation fund to meet the costs of the disaster.