A summary of events Sunday, July 11, Day 82 of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill that began with the April 20 explosion and fire on the drilling rig Deepwater Horizon, owned by Transocean Ltd. and leased by BP PLC, which is in charge of cleanup and containment. The blast killed 11 workers. Since then, oil has been pouring into the Gulf from a blown-out undersea well. SPEWING OIL
Oil spewed largely unchecked once again into the Gulf of Mexico as BP crews worked to replace a leaky cap with a new containment system they hope will finally catch all the crude from the busted well. Robotic submarines removed the cap Saturday that had been placed on top of the leak in early June. BP says it's possible the new, tighter cap would be in place Monday, but it could take more time. On Sunday, officials said the work was going according to plan. BP hopes the capping operation will be done within three to six days.
NO GUARANTEES
There's no guarantee that such a delicate operation nearly a mile below the water's surface will go according to plan. "It's not just going to be, you put the cap on, it's done. It's not like putting a cap on a tube of toothpaste," Coast Guard spokesman Capt. James McPherson said. And the hurricane season that lasts through November could interfere. There are no storms forecast now, but if one blows through, the ships collecting the oil may have to leave and crude would spew again for days into the water.
NEW CAP, NEW HOPE
If the new cap withstands the pressure of the oil, the Gulf region could get its most significant piece of good news since the explosion. But it would be only a temporary solution. Hope for permanently plugging the leak lies with two relief wells, the first of which should be finished by mid-August.
CONFIDENCE
Obama adviser David Axelrod says the administration is confident that BP's latest effort to contain the gushing oil will work. He acknowledged BP's engineers are in "uncharted waters" when it comes to dealing with the leak. Axelrod appeared on "Fox News Sunday" and ABC's "This Week."
SPEEDY OIL SPILL CLAIMS
The man in charge of providing compensation for victims of the Gulf oil spill says he's ready to give those eligible a full six months' worth of emergency payments on a single request. Ken Feinberg, who's administering the $20 billion fund established by BP, says that speeding up the claims process is part of the effort to help people feel an added degree of financial certainty. He was speaking on CNN's "State of the Union."
ASSET SALE, TAKEOVER?
BP declined to comment on a report that it is talking about possibly selling $12 billion worth of assets, including a stake in Alaska's Prudhoe Bay oil field to Houston-based Apache Corp. The Sunday Times of London newspaper did not cite a source for its report. BP is thought to be considering some asset sales to raise cash to cover its oil spill liability. In another report, The Sunday Times, citing petroleum industry sources, said ExxonMobil Corp. had approached the Obama administration for clearance to make a takeover offer for BP. BP declined comment on that report as well.
BLIMP PATROLS
A Navy blimp started looking for oil and distressed wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico. The Coast Guard said initial flights are over the coast of Alabama, but the missions will be expanded as needed and as the weather allows. Observers typically operate from an altitude of 300 to 500 feet in the 178-foot-long airship, which can come to an almost complete stop.
