BP in race to cap disastrous seabed oil gusher

A barge will drop the 100-ton contraption on the seabed 50 miles offshore where a mile-deep gusher has been spewing at least 210,000 gallons of crude oil a day into the Gulf for two weeks.

An oil rig operated by BP exploded on April 20, killing 11 workers, and sinking two days later.

BP is in charge of the clean-up and President Barack Obama and many others have said the company must bear responsible for the costs. The company has capped one of three leaks at the well, a step it says will make it easier to tackle the gusher.

Meanwhile, efforts continue to protect Louisiana coastal wetlands. An absorbent boom has been taken out to the mouth of the Mississippi River. Local fishermen will lay the boom around sensitive marshes. At a nearby marina, local shrimpers also plan to use their boats to put down a boom as part of a program BP is running.

In all, about 7,900 people are working to protect the shoreline and wildlife, and some 170 boats helping with the clean-up.

A rainbow sheen of oil has reached land in parts of Louisiana but forecasts suggest the oil is not expected to come ashore for a couple more days.

"It's a gift of a little bit of time. I'm not resting," US Coast Guard Rear Adm. Mary Landry said.

BP executives have told members of a congressional committee that up to 2.5 million gallons a day could spill if the leaks worsened, though it would be more like 1.7 million gallons. In an exploration plan filed with the government in February 2009, BP said it could handle a "worst-case scenario" of 6.8 million gallons per day from an uncontrolled blow-out.

Containment boxes have never been tried at this depth – about 5,000ft – because of the extreme water pressure. If all goes well, the contraption could be fired up early next week to start funnelling the oil into a tanker.

"We don't know for sure" whether the equipment will work, BP spokesman Mr Bill Salvin said. "What we do know is that we have done extensive engineering and modelling and we believe this gives us the best chance to contain the oil, and that's very important to us."

The seas calmed on Tuesday, allowing more conventional methods to

contain the spill to get back on track .

From the air, the site of the Deepwater Horizon explosion looked similar to a week ago except for the appearance of a massive rig

brought in to drill a relief well to shut off the spewing oil. However, that will take months.