BP's denial every drop of oil found in the gulf is based on sound legal strategy, so to speak. There is a leaky well less than fifty miles away that has been puking into the sea since Hurricane Ike in '08. The leak is trivial compared to the big one, but it's a matter of legal liability. They don't want documented data that will show up in court.
From
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Ike#Oil_and_gas_spills">Wikipedia:
Hurricane Ike's winds, surge and giant waves tossed storage tanks and punctured pipelines. However, operators in the Gulf of Mexico (ranging from major integrated producers like BP and Shell, to small privately owned independents) shut in operations in advance of Ike's approach as a precautionary measure. As a result of these shut-ins, US oil production dropped from 5 MMbbl/d (million barrels per day) to 4 MMbbl/d in the immediate aftermath of the hurricane. By late November, production was restored to pre-Ike levels. Despite the hurricane, only half a million gallons of crude oil (12,000 barrels or 1900 cubic meters — a cube 12.3 meters on a side) spilled into the Gulf of Mexico and the marshes, bayous and bays of Louisiana and Texas over a coastline distance of ~300 km. Much of the spillage occurred in the High Island area of Galveston County, Texas, where storm surge rose over a low-lying oilfield and flooded the marshy area around several producing wells, beam pumps and storage tanks. During the days both before and after the storm, companies and residents reported around 448 releases of gas, oil and other substances into the environment in Louisiana and Texas. The hardest hit places were industrial centers near Houston and Port Arthur, Texas, as well as oil production facilities off Louisiana's coast.
From
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/05/national/main4502537.shtml">CBS:
The Minerals Management Service, which oversees oil production in federal waters offshore, said the storm destroyed at least 52 oil platforms of roughly 3,800 in the Gulf of Mexico. Thirty-two more were severely damaged. But there was only one confirmed report of an oil spill - a leak of 8,400 gallons that officials said left no trace because it dissipated with the winds and currents.
Basically, lying their asses off is worth money in the end. What a wonderful world we have created. Capitalism: had enough yet?