President Barack Obama yesterday defended his handling of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, while BP Plc said it aims to siphon off most of the oil gushing from the ruptured deep-sea wellhead within days.

Using robot submarines, British energy giant BP has clamped a containment cap over the ruptured wellhead a mile below the ocean surface.

But initial estimates of how much crude was being collected and siphoned safely to the surface amounted to a fraction oftheoilthatcontinuedto belch from the ruined well.

The unfolding ecological and economic disaster along the US Gulf Coast, which began on April 20, has presented a stern test of Obama's leadership. He has faced criticism that the US government has not done enough to tackle the crisis.

In his weekly radio and Internet address to Americans on Saturday, Obama said his administration has put in place the largest response to an environmental disaster in US history.