172 million gallons of oil spilled into Gulf of Mexico, federal task force says

172 million gallons spilled in Gulf, officials say

NEW ORLEANS — A federal oil spill task force says about 172 million gallons of crude made it out in the Gulf of Mexico after the well blew out.

The estimate Monday is smaller than a previous one saying the busted well leaked as much as 184 million gallons.

The group says about 206 million gallons total gushed out of the mile-deep well between the April 11 rig explosion and July 15. That’s when engineers placed a temporary cap on the leaking well.

But the fleet of boats and other efforts were able to contain more than 33 million gallons.

The task force says its estimate is the most accurate to date. It has a margin of error of about 10 percentage points.