BP removes old cap from well

NEW ORLEANS, July 10 (UPI) -- The containment cap was lifted from BP's gushing oil well Saturday, the first step in what officials hope will be complete sealing of the Gulf of Mexico spill.

A new cap designed to fit tightly over the well should be installed within a few days, The New York Times reported. But Kent Wells, the senior vice president heading efforts to contain the spill, said in the meantime more oil will gush into the Gulf of Mexico.

Technicians will be moving the new cap -- 100 tons of metal in two pieces -- over the well at the same time BP is hooking up the Helix Producer, a new collection ship, Wells said.

"There's going to be a lot of activity going on," Mr. Wells said. "We're ready to do it, and we've got a very good weather window."

Thad W. Allen, a retired Coast Guard admiral, urged BP to do as much as possible during a 10-day window of good weather forecast for the area.

The new cap will be installed a mile under the surface using remotely controlled submersible devices.

The spill started April 20 with an explosion and fire on BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling platform that killed 11 workers. For weeks, tens of thousands of barrels a day of oil poured into the Gulf, making the spill the worst in U.S. history.