英國石油目前已可攔截部分從墨西哥灣深水地平線油井湧出的原油，但是漂浮在海面的漏油將需數個月時間清除，復育棲地則將需要數年之久，美國聯邦政府漏油應變協調官做出以上表示。
白宮7日舉行記者會，擔任此次國家級事故指揮官的美國巡防上將艾倫(Thad Allen)說：「目前，我們每天攔截15000桶原油。然而在油井被封住的那天之後，我們仍需要至少4到6周來處理原油。」
艾倫上將表示，尚無法得知究竟有多少原油仍從破裂的油井口溢漏，因為「還未確定洩漏流速是多少。」
5月27日，國家事故指揮部的流速技術小組使用3種不同方法，確認出流速介於每天12000至25000桶這個不小的範圍之間。
艾倫上將表示，美國在墨西哥灣130英里的海岸線整個沿線都會受到影響，但這並不代表整體情況，因為原油對海岸的影響可能「侵入到非常深遠的沼澤區」。
他說指揮團隊將會「嚴加監督英國石油」以確保停止讓石油流進墨西哥灣裡，修復損害，並且賠償生計遭受損失的民眾。
「防堵漏油的程序進行得相當順利」艾倫說道。技術人員並對抽取上來的漏油進行加熱，防止其形成冰晶，這種冰晶被稱作可燃冰，可能會阻塞住抽取作業。
英國石油將會逐步關閉截油罩上的閥門，迫使更多原油進入吸油管，抽取到海面上的「發現者企業號」(Discoverer Enterprise)鑽油船。艾倫上將表示若需要，英國石油將會自北海拉來另一艘船來處理生產出來的更大量原油。
艾倫解釋：「需要繼續維持生產是因為要減輕井口承受的壓力。」此舉目標是維持讓原油從豎管吸取上來，而不要在壓力下受力進到海床下的地質構造，又在其他地方噴出。
英國石油公司另打算於6月中旬增設一個強化生產的系統，將與當地現有的截油罩同時運作。
在7月上旬，當地颶風應會更趨於強勁，英國石油期望能設置固定的系統設施。依據氣象預報預測，今年的大西洋颶風季節將非常活躍。
最終的解決對策是在減壓井，目標訂於8月完成。預計將會完全阻止原油與天然氣流出油井。
BP is capturing some of the oil spewing from the damaged Deepwater Horizon wellhead in the Gulf of Mexico, but spilled oil on the surface will take months to clean up and restoring the habitat will take years, says the coordinator of the federal government's spill response.
At a White House news conference this morning, National Incident Commander U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen said, "Currently, we are capturing about 15,000 barrels a day. But the day the well is capped, we'll still be dealing with oil at least four to six weeks after that."
Admiral Allen said it is not yet possible to know how much oil is still spilling from the broken wellhead because "We still haven't established what the flow rate is."
On May 27, the National Incident Command's Flow Rate Technical Group, using three different methods, established a wide range of flow from 12,000 to 25,000 barrels per day.
A total of 130 miles of the gulf coastline is impacted linearly, the admiral said, but that doesn't tell the whole story because oil can impact the shore "very far into the marshlands."
Admiral Allen said we will be "ruthless in the oversight of BP," to ensure that the flow of oil into the gulf is stopped, the damage is repaired and people are compensated for loss of livelihood.
"The containment process going faily well," said Allen. Technicians are warming the oil as it comes up to avoid the formation of icy crystals called gas hydrates that could block the flow.
BP will gradually close valves on the containment cap to force more oil up the pipe into the Discoverer Enterprise drillship on the surface. Admiral Allen said if it is needed, the company will bring another ship in from the North Sea to handle the greater volume of oil being produced.
"We need to keep production going because it alleviates pressure on the wellbore," the admiral explained. The goal is to keep the oil coming up the riser pipe instead of being forced under pressure into geological structures under the seafloor to blow out in other places.
By mid-June, BP also intends to install an enhanced production system that will run in parallel with the containment cap currently in place.
By early July, BP expects to have a more permanent system in place which should be more robust in the event of hurricanes. Forecasters predict an extremely active Atlantic hurricane season.
The final resolution lies in the relief wells, which are targeted for completion in August. These are expected to completely stop the flow of oil and gas from the well.
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