Stormy seas continued to hamper cleanup efforts

Based on the upper end of a range of government estimates, the spill passed the 140-million-gallon mark, surpassing the 1979-1980 Ixtoc I spill off Mexico.

While Hurricane Alex spared a direct hit on the gushing well 40 miles off the Louisiana coast, high swells kept BP from skimming or burning surface oil and halted the placement of new sections of boom.

Drillships continued to bore a relief well that is expected to plug the well in the next few weeks — slightly ahead of a mid-August target date - said retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, who commands the multipronged spill response.

"We're now amassing our forces to move back out once the weather allows us to get back on the water and skim," Allen told reporters at a Thursday briefing.

That could be sometime this weekend, depending on weather, he said.
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