BP America Chairman and President Lamar McKay acknowledged that the oil gushing from the fractured well nearly a mile (1,500 meters) below the ocean surface was due to a defective equipment designed to shut down the well in a blowout.

Six robotic submarines struggled to activate a 450-tonne blowout preventer valve that failed to work properly when the well exploded April 20, igniting a fire that sent the Deepwater Horizon rig to the ocean floor with 11 workers missing and presumed dead.

British oil giant BP, which owns the well, is "still working hard" on fixing the valve, McKay said on ABC's "This Week" news show.

"As you can imagine, this is like doing open heart surgery at 5,000 feet in the dark with robot-controlled submarines," McKay told ABC.

The well is pouring an estimated 200,000 gallons of crude a day and has produced a slick more than 130 miles (200 kilometers) long that is threatening an environmental and economic catastrophe on the coast of Louisiana and other southern US states.

"Everything is done remotely, including the inspection of the pipeline, the survey and the repair of the hydraulic systems associated with the blowout preventer," said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, speaking on CNN'S "State of the Union" program.

"The highest technology is being applied," he said.

The blowout preventer should have automatically activated to stop any oil from spilling.

Salazar was clear on the source of the problem. "There is no doubt at all that what has happened is that the blowout prevention mechanism at the bottom of the well is defective," he said.

"Our job is basically to keep the boot on the neck of British Petroleum to carry out the responsibilities that they have under the law and contractually to move forward and stop this spill."

McKay used slightly different words in describing the problem.

"I believe that we've got a failed piece of equipment. We don't know why it failed yet," but BP's focus now "is dealing with the source of the oil, dealing with it on the surface and dealing with it on the beach or the marsh if it occurs."

McKay said that BP, along with the government, is working on three parallel fronts: trying to contain the oil at its source, trying to channel the oil flow in a way it can be controlled, and dealing with the offshore spill and eventually any onshore cleanup.

McKay also said that BP engineers were finalizing work on a containment dome, which could help mitigate the disaster.

The dome "has been fabricated. The engineering is being finalized to get that mobilized and deployed. That will probably be in six to eight days we'll have that deployed," McKay said.

The estimate represents a much shortened timeframe from the original two to four weeks given for the unprecedented operation.

Officials said the dome would be similar to welded steel containment structures called cofferdams that are used in oil rig construction. It would be the first time that such a structure is built and put in place underwater.

If it works as intended, the dome would capture the gushing oil and allow it to be pumped out.

BP began drilling a relief well Saturday, a process that could take up to three months.

Officials are also testing the use of chemical dispersants underwater to limit the impact of the broken well.

Despite the dangers, Salazar said he did not believe any of the remaining 30,000 drilling rigs still operating in the Gulf should be shut down.

"For us to turn off those spigots would have a very huge impact on America's economy right now," Salazar said on NBC's "Meet the Press" program. "This is an industry that can operate safely."

The administration of President Barack Obama earlier announced it will not issue new offshore oil-drilling leases unless rigs have new safety features aimed at preventing a similar accident.

Thousands of federal, state and private sector responders have descended upon the Gulf Coast for the massive cleanup operation, with a flotilla of ships of all types helping mop up the oily mess.

Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen, who is leading the response effort, said that poor weather has hampered cleanup operations.

burs-ch/ao

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