Envronment: Can BP plug the Gulf gusher?

As the nation remained transfixed by a busted oil well spewing millions of gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico, BP said Saturday that its latest bid to plug the worst oil spill in U.S. history still hadn't worked and scientists suggested any progress was incremental at best.

BP PLC chief operating officer Doug Suttles told reporters Saturday in Port Fourchon that the effort known as a "top kill" has not stopped the flow of oil, and that he doesn't know if the risky maneuver will succeed. He said the company was already preparing its next option to cap the well.

Philip W. Johnson, an engineering professor at the University of Alabama, said the camera appeared to show mostly drilling mud leaking from the well Friday morning, and two of the leaks appeared a little smaller than in the past, suggesting the top kill "may have had a slight but not dramatic effect." But Bob Bea, a professor of engineering at University of California at Berkeley who has studied offshore drilling for 55 years, said late Friday that what he saw didn't look promising.

For the complete report: A nation mesmerized: Can BP plug the Gulf gusher? - NewsTimes