The beginning of the end could be little more than a week away for the capped, sunken oil well in the Gulf of Mexico -- that is, if the latest timeline for permanently killing the ruptured well holds up.
The U.S. government says there's very little oil left on the surface to clean up. CNN's Ed Lavandera reports.
BP finished pouring cement down its crippled well in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday in an operation known as a "static kill," completing the job earlier than expected.
One hundred days after an oil well operated by BP ruptured in the Gulf of Mexico, and 13 days after crews finished capping the well to contain the gushing crude, the man who is overseeing the federal response is optimistic that steps planned for the coming days will finally, permanently seal the well.
A towing vessel struck an oil well in the Barataria Waterway off the southeastern Louisiana coast on Tuesday, causing the well to emit oil and natural gas into Barataria Bay, the Coast Guard said in a news release.
Crews are back at BP's crippled oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, preparing for two efforts to seal the well, after activity was halted over the weekend because of bad weather.
CNN's David Mattingly flies over the Gulf well relief site, where vessels are returning to find little surface oil.
Oil left on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico is breaking down naturally now that the flow of crude has been cut off beneath the surface, a Coast Guard admiral said Sunday after touring the scene.
As Tropical Depression Bonnie churns through the Gulf of Mexico, several response vessels at the site of BP's ruptured well are in the process of being moved out of harm's way Friday, possibly leaving the sealed well cap unattended for about 48 hours, federal officials said.
CNN's Reynolds Wolf reports that the brunt of Hurricane Alex misses South Padre Island, Texas.
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