HOUSTON (Reuters) - Drilling of a relief well seen as the most promising way to plug the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a week ahead of schedule, the U.S. official overseeing the spill response said on Tuesday.
But crews were still aiming to reach BP's blown-out well only in mid-August, Retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen said on Tuesday, 78 days after an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig killed 11 people and burst an oil well, now spewing up to 60,000 barrels of crude into the Gulf each day.