Free Republic

HOUSTON — BP says the rig drilling the relief well that's the best hope of stopping the Gulf oil spill has made it within about 20 feet horizontally of the blown-out well that's gushing crude. BP Senior Vice President Kent Wells said Monday that the rig is going to drill an additional 900 feet down before crews cut in sideways and start pumping in heavy mud to try to stop the flow from the damaged well. It's currently about 16,770 feet down. Wells says BP is moving extremely cautiously to make sure everything is lined up correctly and the...

ROBERT, La. — After failing again to stem the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, BP scrambled Sunday to make some progress in ending the spill that the president's top energy adviser said was the biggest environmental disaster the U.S. has ever faced. Six weeks after the spill, oil giant BP PLC said that its latest plan to cap the well wouldn't capture all the crude fouling the Gulf. And the relief wells currently being drilled — which are supposed to be a better long-term solution — won't be done for at least two months. "Well, the relief...