Cap on BP's oil well stopping half a million gallons a day polluting Gulf

The cap on the damaged BP well stopped 462,000 gallons yesterday, the Coast Guard admiral overseeing the US government's response to the spill said Monday.

That was up from about 441,000 gallons on Saturday and about 250,000 on Friday.

The ruptured pipe is leaking between 500,000 and a million gallons a day.

BP said that the cost of the response has reached about 1.25 billion dollars, not including 360 million dollars to build six sand berms meant to protect Louisiana's wetlands from spreading oil.

It was not clear how much oil was still escaping from the well. The inverted funnel-like cap is being closely watched for whether it can make a serious dent in the flow of new oil.

Adm. Thad Allen said at the White House, prior to a meeting with President Barack Obama, that engineers hope to increase the amount that is collected at the surface.

BP is anticipating moving another ship into the area to help move the collected oil.

Adm Allen also said the battle against the oil already in the Gulf now involves "hundreds of thousands" of individual patches. Small vessels in the area have been enlisted to help capture those patches using skimmers, he said.

He said that "dealing with the oil spill on the surface will take a couple of months" but that the process of getting oil out of marshlands and other habitats "will be years."

The White House said that penalties eventually levelled against BP would be based on how much oil has been spilled, and the government will use its own figures.

Adm. Allen said BP needed to make improvements on getting money to individuals and businesses who have been harmed by the spill. Individuals have begun to get partial payments, but the government is pushing for that to be made routine so that people know to expect regular checks.

Business claims require more complicated documentation and processing, they are going slower and government officials were meeting BP

officials to try to speed it up.

In Florida, tar balls continued to roll onto Pensacola Beach and left a distinct line in the sand.

Jody Haas, a tourist, said the beach used to be "pristine, gorgeous, white sand". Now there was tar everywhere.

As the crisis shows no sign of abating, the UK Government has said it will increase its inspection of North Sea drilling rigs.

Energy Secretary Chris Huhne said an urgent review of measures governing the oil and gas industry in UK waters had found that the regulatory regime was "fit for purpose" but the number of annual environmental inspections on drilling rigs will be doubled and a new oil industry group is being asked to report on the UK's ability to

prevent and respond to a potential spill.