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UPDATED at 2:45 p.m.CDT [1945 GMT/UTC]:

BP says new cap on well fully closed, no oil going into Gulf

ASSOCIATED PRESS • July 15, 2010

NEW ORLEANS —BP says oil from its broken well has stopped gushing into the Gulf of Mexico for the first time since April.

The announcement Thursday came after company officials said all valves had been shut on a new cap over the busted well in an experiment to stop the spill.

Kent Wells, a BP PLC vice president, said at a news briefing that oil stopped flowing into the water at 2:25 p.m. CDT. [1925 GMT/UTC]

It was a long-awaited milestone in one of the nation’s worst environmental disasters. While not a permanent solution to plug the busted well, the success in capturing the oil spewing out was welcome news.

The crisis began when BP’s deepwater rig exploded, killing 11 workers.

The cap is not a permanent fix. BP is drilling two relief wells so it can pump mud and cement into the leaking well in hopes of plugging it for good. ~ view original