This article is more than 10 years old

This article is more than 10 years old

BP says it has reinstalled an oil-siphoning cap on its blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico and has resumed collecting crude after an accident led to oil flowing unhindered into the ocean for several hours yesterday.

The political risks from the disaster were underscored by a poll showing Barack Obama's job performance rating has dropped to the lowest level of his presidency. The Obama administration is appealing a court ruling blocking a six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling.

The worst spill in US history has been thrust to the top of Obama's crowded domestic agenda but the Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found half of those surveyed disapproved of his handling of the spill.

Overall Obama's rating stood at 45% in the poll, down five points from early last month. For the first time in the survey, more people, or 48%, said they disapproved of his job performance.

The administration sought to keep its responses to the catastrophe in play as it appealed against the lifting of a deep-water drilling ban. A judge had said the moratorium was too far-reaching and not adequately justified despite the spill.

The government also asked district judge Martin Feldman in New Orleans to put his ruling against the moratorium on hold pending the outcome of the appeal or until the appeals court can consider a request for a stay.

The justice department said the temporary moratorium affected only 33 active deepwater drills in the Gulf of Mexico.

In addition to the appeal, interior secretary Ken Salazar said he would revise his original order suspending drilling 500ft below sea level to make it more flexible and thus address the court's concerns.

The government imposed a six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling after the offshore rig exploded on 20 April killing 11 workers and rupturing BP's well.