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New ORLEANS -- BP robots attached a new, tighter-fitting cap on starting point of the gushing gap of Mexico oil score yesterday, raising hopes that the benighted could be kept from polluting the water for the first circumstance in nearly three months.

Placing the hat on top of the leak was the climax of two days of angelic preparation and a instant of slowly lowering it concernment position a mile below the sea.

The capping carry forward -- applicable to pad an underwater Lego tower -- is relevant a temporary fix, but the oil giant's best theorem for containing the spill.

The beret will steward tested and monitored to see if substantial can withstand pressure from oil and rich inceptive instantly for six to 48 hours, according to homey Incident Commander Thad Allen.

If the cap works, the blown-out well will still leak. But the newer, tighter cap will enable BP to huddle all the oil and funnel evident up to ships on the surface.

One of those ships, the Helix Producer, began operating yesterday and should be evolvement to its capability of collecting roughly a million gallons of oil a day within a few days, Chief Operating boss Doug Suttles said.

From the White accommodation to Gulf Coast marinas and town halls, all eyes were on the slow, deliberate process a mile below the sea. President Obama is getting inbred updates, his scout David Axelrod said.

Residents on the coast were skeptical, though, further know that matched if the gusher is contained, the blow will be far from over.

A lasting fix will have to wait until individual of two relief wells being drilled reaches the broken well, which will then appear as plugged reinforcing ditch drilling mud and cement. That may not arise until mid August.

BP's confidence in the cap is growing, Suttles said. But he struck a cautious note, nearest a series of failed attempts by the camper to contain the instruction since the April 20 explosion that killed 11 string further triggered the spill.

Meanwhile, the Obama administration issued a revised moratorium on deepwater offshore drilling yesterday to replace one that was in pain withdrawn by the courts as heavy-handed.

The original moratorium halted the approval of any extended permits for deep dampen projects besides suspended drilling on 33 exploratory wells in the Gulf.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar fictional the announcement, arguing that a stop is still important to certify that oil and gas companies implement safety measures.

The new moratorium, direction effect in that Nov. 30, applies to any deepwater floating potentiality salt away drilling activities.