BP accepts offers from Mexico and Norway to try to contain the Gulf oil spill

WASHINGTON, D.C. (BNO NEWS) -- British Petroleum (BP) has accepted offers of assistance from Mexico and Norway to try to contain the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico as the company was authorized to begun its "top kill" maneuver designed to seal the well, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday.

"Two offers of assistance have been accepted thus far – Mexico and Norway. Those offers were actually accepted by BP as part of this Unified Area Command," said U.S. State Department spokesperson Philip J. Crowley.

"Some of the early acceptance involved booms to try to contain the spread of oil away from the rig," Crowley added.

According to the Department of State, Canada, Mexico, South Korea, Croatia, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Russia, Spain, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and Vietnam have offered support.

The U.S. has also received other offers of assistance from international organizations including the European Maritime Safety Agency, the environmental unit of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and the United Nations Environment Program and the International Maritime Organization.

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