Effort to capture oil from Gulf leak raises questions about just how much has been gushing

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee took testimony on legislation that would raise the federal oil spill liability cap from $75 million to $10 billion.

SHOOT: As you may have guessed, the amount of oil being captured is at the top top end of the spectrum of guestimates, and soon likely to exceed the uppermost estimates.

clipped from finance.yahoo.com WASHINGTON (AP) -- The latest announcement on how much oil is being captured from the gushing BP oil well raised additional doubts Wednesday about the validity of government estimates on how much crude actually has been spewing into Gulf waters. Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, who is in charge of the spill response effort, said that BP was now capturing 630,000 gallons a day and that the amount could nearly double by next week to roughly 1.17 million gallons. But the government's estimate of the total oil leaking has been 500,000 to 1 million gallons every day. The inability to pin down how much oil is gushing from the BP well a mile beneath the water's surface has stymied government officials almost from the day of the accident April 20. "BP is responsible for all the damages that flow from the oil spill," said Salazar, adding that the job losses and economic harm from the pause on deep-water drilling "are some of the consequences from the oil spill."