BP has said it closed down its oil-capture in the Gulf of Mexico last night.
The oil firm said a lightning storm forced the action, but it expected the system to reopen today.
BP’s costs for the worst spill in US history appear set to rise as a partner in the out-of-control well has laid the blame at BP's feet and the new federal czar overseeing damage claims said BP would pay more if $20 billion was not enough.
The British oil company said it would not be distracted by a dispute with Anadarko Petroleum Corp.
The owner of a quarter of the well gushing into the Gulf broke its near-silence on the spill to squarely pin blame - and financial responsibility - on BP.
‘There appears to be gross negligence or wilful misconduct,’ Houston-based Anadarko Chairman and CEO Jim Hackett said in an interview that helped to drive his company's shares up 2.2% in after-hours trading on the hopes it could avoid multi-billion-dollar liabilities.
BP said it ‘strongly disagrees’ with the assessment of gross negligence but would keep its focus squarely on the Gulf, cleaning up the spill and plugging the well.
The new federal administrator of a fund to pay for damages told CBS News it would be a ‘horror’ if BP went bankrupt but the $20 billion fund agreed upon by BP and the White House could rise if it proved insufficient.
President Barack Obama has seen his popularity slip over his handling of the spill and lawmakers in both major parties used hearings with BP and other oil industry officials this week to gather ammunition ahead of November elections.
Gulf residents, from state officials to citizens on the blighted beaches, see costs skyrocketing with the collapse of the fishing industry, a deep water oil drilling moratorium and growing environmental destruction along the coast.
‘I think it's going to go over $100 billion,’ said Brian Miguez, a food service salesman from New Orleans, at his vacation property in Grand Isle, Louisiana, where the spill has forced the closure and cleanup of six miles of sandy beach.
‘They haven't even felt the wrath of the lawsuits that are going to come in,’ he said.
The Center for Biological Diversity on Friday filed what it said was the largest citizen enforcement act ever under the Clean Water Act, suing BP and rig operator Transocean Ltd for up to $19 billion, if the spill flows until August.
BP is now capturing record amounts of crude - with 25,000 barrels (1.05 million gallons/3.97 million litres) siphoned off on Thursday, the US Coast Guard admiral leading the relief effort said.
But Admiral Thad Allen said 35,000 barrels a day, and possibly as much as 60,000 barrels, are pouring from the well.
The Wall Street Journal reported late last night that BP's well used a cheaper technology than the industry standard and was less secure against natural gas blowouts of the type that destroyed it. The newspaper's analysis found that BP used the cheaper technology much more frequently than rivals.
