BP: It Will Soon Be Only a 'Trickle'

On a day when skepticism about BP's oil-cleaning ways is at a high pitch, take this for what it's worth: The company tells AP that the gushing oil "should be down to a relative trickle by Monday or Tuesday." (Or maybe the key word is "relative.") Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles sounded the upbeat note in an interview, saying the arrival of a second pumping vessel in the next few days will speed progress.

The prediction comes as a team of researchers under the leadership of the US Geological Survey prepares to issue its estimate on how much is leaking. "BP is claiming they're capturing the majority of the flow, which I think is going to be proven wrong in short order," said team member Steve Wereley of Purdue. It's possible the daily flow rate is between 800,000 and 1.8 million gallons, he says, far higher than current BP and government estimates. (More Gulf oil spill stories.)