The US coastguard official leading the operation to contain the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico says BP's new operation is doing better than initial estimates. <br/> <br/>Admiral Thad Allen said 6,000 barrels of oil were captured in the first 24 hours after the procedure commenced on Thursday. This represents between a third and a half of the estimated daily leakage since the Deep water Horizon rig exploded and sank on 20 April, killing 11 workers. <br/> <br/>Adm Allen said BP hopes to increase the amount it is capturing over the next few days. He also said that winds had pushed the slick closer to about 200 miles of coastline stretching from the Mississippi-Alabama border to Port St Joe in north-west Florida.