NEWS ALERT – An administration official familiar with the
spill oversight, told The Associated Press that a seep and possible
methane were found near the busted oil well. The official spoke on
condition of anonymity Sunday because an announcement about the next
steps had not been made yet.

The concern all along since pressure
readings on the cap weren’t as high as expected, was a leak elsewhere in
the wellbore, meaning the cap may have to be reopened to prevent the
environmental disaster from becoming even worse and harder to fix.

The official, who would not clarify what
is seeping near the well, also said BP is not complying with the
government’s demand for more monitoring.

Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the
Obama administration’s spill response chief, demanded BP provide results
of further testing of the seabed by 9 p.m. EDT Sunday night.

"When seeps are detected, you are directed
to marshal resources, quickly investigate, and report findings to the
government in no more than four hours. I direct you to provide me a
written procedure for opening the choke valve as quickly as possible
without damaging the well should hydrocarbon seepage near the well head
be confirmed," Allen said in a letter to BP Managing Director Bob
Dudley.

When asked about the situation earlier
Sunday before the letter was released, BP spokesman Mark Salt would only
say that "we continue to work very closely with all government
scientists on this."

Allen insisted Sunday that "nothing has
changed" since Saturday, when he said oil would eventually be piped to
surface ships. The government is overseeing BP’s work to stop the leak,
which ultimately is to be plugged using a relief well.

Allen decided to extend testing of the cap
that had been scheduled to end Sunday, the official who spoke on
condition of anonymity said. That means the oil will stay in the well
for now as scientists continue run tests and monitor pressure readings.
The official didn’t say how long that would take.

Officials at the Department of Homeland
Security referred questions to a statement issued by Allen; neither he
nor BP officials could explain the apparent contradiction in plans.

Suttles’ comments carved out an important
piece of turf for BP: If Allen sticks with the containment plan and oil
again pours forth into the Gulf, even briefly, it will be the
government’s doing, not BP’s.

The company very much wants to avoid a
repeat of the live underwater video that showed millions of gallons of
oil spewing from the blown well for weeks.

"I can see why they’re pushing for keeping
the cap on and shut in until the relief well is in place," said Daniel
Keeney, president of a Dallas-based public relations firm.

The government wants to eliminate any
chance of making matters worse, while BP is loath to lose the momentum
it gained the moment it finally halted the leak, Keeney said.

"They want to project being on the same
team, but they have different end results that benefit each," he said.

Oil would have to be released under
Allen’s plan, which would ease concerns that the capped reservoir might
force its way out through another route. Those concerns stem from
pressure readings in the cap that have been lower than expected.

Scientists still aren’t sure whether the
pressure readings mean a leak elsewhere in the well bore, possibly deep
down in bedrock, which could make the seabed unstable. Oil would be have
to be released into the water to relieve pressure and allow crews to
hook up the ships, BP and Allen have said.

"We’re not seeing any problems at this
point with the shut-in," Suttles said at a Sunday morning briefing.

Allen said later Sunday that scientists
and engineers would continue to evaluate and monitor the cap through
acoustic, sonar and seismic readings.

They’re looking to determine whether low
pressure readings mean that more oil than expected poured into the Gulf
of Mexico since the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig exploded April 20,
killing 11 people and touching off one of America’s worst environment
crises.

"While we are pleased that no oil is
currently being released into the Gulf of Mexico and want to take all
appropriate action to keep it that way, it is important that all
decisions are driven by the science," Allen said in a news release.

"Ultimately, we must ensure no
irreversible damage is done which could cause uncontrolled leakage from
numerous points on the sea floor."

Both Allen and BP have said they don’t
know how long the trial run will continue. It was set to end Sunday
afternoon, but the deadline – an extension from the original Saturday
cutoff – came and went with no word on what’s next.

After little activity Sunday, robots near
the well cap came to life around the time of the cutoff. It wasn’t clear
what they were doing, but bubbles started swirling around as their
robotic arms poked at the mechanical cap.

To plug the busted well, BP is drilling
two relief wells, one of them as a backup. The company said work on the
first one was far enough along that officials expect to reach the broken
well’s casing, or pipes, deep underground by late this month. The
subsequent job of jamming the well with mud and cement could take days
or a few weeks.

It will take months, or possibly years for
the Gulf to recover, though cleanup efforts continued and improvements
in the water could be seen in the days since the oil stopped flowing.
Somewhere between 94 million and 184 million gallons have spilled into
the Gulf, according to government estimates.

The spill has prevented many commercial
fishermen from their jobs, though some are at work with the cleanup.
Some boat captains were surprised and angry to learn that the money they
make from cleanup work will be deducted from the funds they would
otherwise receive from a $20 billion compensation fund set up by BP.

The fund’s administrator, Kenneth
Feinberg, told The Associated Press on Sunday that if BP pays fishermen
wages to help skim oil and perform other cleanup work, those wages will
be subtracted from the amount they get from the fund.

Longtime charter boat captain Mike Salley
said he didn’t realize BP planned to deduct those earnings, and he
doubted many other captains knew, either.

"I’ll keep running my boat," he said
Sunday on a dock in Orange Beach, Ala., before heading back into the
Gulf to resupply other boats with boom to corral the oil. "What else can
I do?"