Obama to visit Gulf for oil spill update

U.S. President Barack Obama is heading back to the Louisiana coast, a day after BP placed a funnel-like cap on its deepwater well that has been spewing oil into the Gulf of Mexico for over a month.

This image from video released by BP shows equipment being used in the effort to cap the oil well in the Gulf of Mexico. (BP/Associated Press)

"We did get the cap in place successfully last night," BP chief operating officer Doug Suttles said Friday morning in one of several television appearances.

The next task will be to close four vents in the top of the cap and force as much oil as possible through a riser pipe to a tanker waiting on the water's surface, 1,500 metres above.

The device started pumping oil and gas to a tanker on the surface overnight, but it wasn't clear how much.

"Progress is being made, but we need to caution against over-optimism," said U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, the government's point man for the disaster.

The cap, which resembles an inverted funnel with a rubber seal, is not expected to capture all of the oil, Suttles said, but "if we can get it optimized it should get the vast majority." As of Friday morning, the cap was collecting and diverting roughly 191,000 litres a day, he said, though he stressed he wasn't certain.

If the new cap fails — like every other attempt to control the six-week-old leak — the best chance is probably a relief well, which is not expected to be complete until August.

Obama cancels Asia trip

Obama had been scheduled to visit Australia and Indonesia but called off the trip suddenly.

White House officials announced the cancellation late Thursday night without explanation, saying only that Obama "looked forward to rescheduling so that he can visit both countries soon."

Deputy press secretary Bill Burton had said Wednesday the trip was "still on schedule."

Friday's visit marks Obama's third appearance in the region since the leak began after an offshore rig exploded on April 20, killing 11 workers.

In Louisiana, Obama will meet with Allen and local and state officials. He is also expected to visit several Gulf Coast communities whose livelihoods have been upended by the spill.

Oil washing up in Florida

In Pensacola, Fla., oil blobs were being hurled onto the beach by every crashing wave, leaving patches of "really wet, goopy, glistening" globs – some as big as dinner plates – strewn across the sand, according to the CBC's Paul Hunter.

Sheen, too, was washing up, leaving a "yellowy-green-beige hue to the sand," Hunter said.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist told CNN Friday he had requested additional skimmers from the coast guard to help collect the oil.

To date, "most of our beaches are very clean and untouched," said Crist.

At stake is Florida's booming tourism industry, which brings $60 billion US to the state every year.

"It's incredibly important to try to do everything we can to protect our state," Crist said, adding the concept of oil washing up on shore has made him "angry and frustrated."

Obama has been criticized by some pundits for displaying too little emotion about the spill and for not making an emotional connection to those affected by it. Friday's trip could change that.

In an interview aired Thursday night, the typically unruffled president told CNN's Larry King he was angered by the failure of efforts to stop the flow of oil.

"I am furious at this entire situation because this is an example where somebody didn't think through the consequences of their actions," Obama said.

"This is imperilling an entire way of life and an entire region for potentially years."