BP shares up after leak finally stopped

Oil giant BP has finally stopped the flow of oil which has been leaking into the Gulf of Mexico since April.

US listed shares of BP soared 7.6% yesterday after Kent Wells, the company’s senior vice president of exploration and production, said the new sealing cap had been successful in shutting off the flow of oil.

The incident, which has been described as the worst US environmental disaster, happened after an explosion on a BP oil rig on 20 April, which took the lives of 11 people.

The explosion led to thousands of barrels of oil leaking from the damaged well.

Earlier this week, the company said total clean-up costs relating to the disaster have hit $3.5 billion (£2.3 billion) – up from $3.12 billion just a week ago.

In related news, yesterday US politicians approved a bill that could see BP banned from any new drilling in US waters for 7 years.