Gulf oil spill cap is holding, says BP

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Work boats at the site of the Gulf oil spill. Photograph: Dave Martin/AP

When the history books come to be written about America’s worst environmental disaster, Sunday 18 July may be seen as the day the cry went up that the oil had permanently stopped spewing into the Gulf of Mexico.

But things being the way they are, the announcement came in a cryptic statement from BP that was so shrouded in techno-garble and caveats that its huge significance was perilously close to being lost. “Right now there is no target set to open the well back up to flow,” said Doug Suttles, BP’s chief operating officer, adding: “We’re hopeful that if the encouraging signs continue that we’ll be able to continue the integrity test all the way to the point that we get the well killed.”

Given their importance, Suttles’ words deserve to be translated into plain English. Tests over the weekend on the new cap placed over the broken well suggested that it was working, there were no leaks, the flow had been stopped and – wonder of wonders – it might stay that way until the well is finally and conclusively plugged, probably next month.

It is a sign of how cautious the main parties have become in the wake of numerous publicity gaffes that nobody was prepared even to hint that the nightmare of oil billowing into the clean waters of the Gulf was over. “We will take this day by day,” Suttles said.

As for the Obama administration, it said nothing at all. On Saturday its line, delivered through the government’s point man on the disaster, Admiral Thad Allen, had been that it was likely to order BP to open the new containment cap and begin pumping oil up to vessels on the surface as a way of reducing the risk of leakage from the well.

But Allen was notably silent on Sunday, leaving BP to do the talking. And BP pointed out that reopening the cap would inevitably involve more oil spewing out. “Clearly we don’t want to reanimate flow into the Gulf if we don’t have to,” Suttles said.

There were no visible displays of elation in the most heavily affected coastline areas of Louisiana, but there was a new note of optimism. “We see light at the end of the tunnel,” said Billy Nungesser, who has been one of the most vocal leaders locally. Even he felt duty bound to add: “It’s a very long tunnel but today we’re making progress.”