Breaking News – Containment cap stops flow of oil into Gulf

Reports are coming in the the flow of oil leaking from the Macondo well has been stopped.  From MSNBC:

HOUSTON — For the first time since the Gulf oil spill disaster started on April 20, the entire flow of oil was being contained Thursday as part of BP’s pressure testing of a new cap, BP and federal officials said.

President Barack Obama called the news a “positive sign” but cautioned that “we’re still in the testing phase.”

If the cap holds, the idea is to keep it on — and the flow checked — until a relief well can plug the blownout well in August.

If the cap does not hold, BP has added to its siphoning capacity and expects to be able to siphon up most if not all of the oil starting next week.

BP had slowly dialed down the flow as part of the pressure test. Engineers are now monitoring the pressure to see if the busted well holds.

BP Vice President Kent Wells said that oil stopped flowing into the water at 3:25 p.m. ET.

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