BP Shares Climb 5% Following Well Capping

BP's shares jumped more than 5% this morning as British investors welcomed last night's capping of the well which has been spewing oil into the Gulf of Mexico since April.

Photo: BP Shares Climb 5% Following Well Capping

BP Shares Climb 5% Following Well Capping

The company said last night that its latest attempt to staunch the gushing well had worked and that for the first time in 87 days oil was no longer gushing from a mile-deep well off the Louisiana coast – raising hopes that it could be sealed for good. This sent BP's shares straight to the top of the FTSE 100 risers when trading began this morning, up 22p at 423.75p, The Guardian says.

BP has tried a number of ways to stop the flow, but the new capping device is the first to have succeeded in stopping it entirely.

BP executive Kent Wells announced the success on Thursday, saying he was "excited" by the progress. The firm will now monitor the integrity of the well in detailed tests expected to last until Saturday, with experts discussing the progress every six hours, BBC News informs.