BP Share News (BP.)

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES BP PLC (BP, BP.LN) said the rate it captured oil from a broken well in the Gulf of Mexico held steady for another 12 hours Thursday morning. The company retrieved 12,505 barrels of oil during the first half of Thursday, 8,565 barrels of which was collected and 3,940 barrels of which was flared. That total is up 1.5% from BP's previous half-day rate. Lately the rate has been consistent, although in the last month operations had been disrupted by lightning strikes and Hurricane Alex. A team of scientists has estimated that about 35,000 to 60,000 barrels are flowing from the broken well every day. The news comes as BP continues the process of hooking up a new oil-collecting vessel that should roughly double capacity to capture oil at the site. With the new Helix Producer vessel expected to be plugged in by Saturday, BP has said it would be able to recover oil up to 53,000 barrels a day. The company is also preparing to replace the containment cap with a more secure seal. It has been under intense pressure to successfully contain the spewing oil, which began in April when a deep-water drilling rig exploded and sank. The drilling of relief wells is due to be finished in August, at which point the company would pump heavy drilling fluids into the existing well to restrict the oil flow, allowing it to be plugged with cement. Thursday, President Barack Obama's administration demanded BP explain more fully its strategy to stop the leak. It requested an updated timeline detailing when the relief wells and other responses are expected to be done. BP's American depositary shares were flat at $33.74 after hours. The stock has lost about 44% of its value since the oil leak began. -By Joan E. Solsman, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2291; joan.solsman@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 08, 2010 19:23 ET (23:23 GMT)