Fresh hope following new cap decreasing oil flow in BP well

Washington, July 13 (ANI): After a new containment cap was lowered into the Gulf of Mexico on Monday, an underwater video of BP's well showed a dramatic decrease in oil flow for the first time since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded in April.

According to the New York Daily News, BP officials have refused to immediately comment on the new images streaming online.

A new cap was placed on the well in the latest attempt by BP in a series of failed efforts to stop the flow of oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico.

The 18-foot-high, 150,000-pound metal cap was lowered onto the well Monday night.The cap is meant to be a temporary fix until the relief wells are drilled into the blown out well.

Officials, however, have said that the cap would slowly stop the flow of oil, avoiding another explosion."Rather than like a train running into a brick wall, it'll be more like putting the brakes on slowly," said Don Van Nieuwenhuise, at the University of Houston said.

Earlier, President Obama's Press Secretary Robert Gibbs expressed hope about the new containment cap.

"The sealing cap will assist in the eventual killing of the oil," Gibbs said. "And we're certainly hopeful that over the course of the next several days, they'll get that on, they'll get that tightened appropriately. And the containment capacity that I just described will increase in a way like we haven't seen thus far," he added.

A previous cap was removed on Saturday and was not fitted properly, allowing crude to escape into the waters.However, the company has said that they would run tests on the cap to ensure there are no leaks from the well. The tests could last from a few hours to up to two days. (ANI)