Incoming BP chief executive Bob Dudley has made a commitment to tackling the environmental oil damage in the Gulf of Mexico, but has also said it is time for the company to scale back some aspects of the oil spill clean-up.

Mr Dudley told the BBC that even though BP would be in the area "for years" to ensure the damage is put right, no oil has been released into the Gulf since a new cap was closed on 15th July, allowing the company to prepare for a pullback, in which workers will be pulled back from clear beaches.

He said: "You will see the evidence of a pullback because we have booms across the shores all the way from Florida to Louisiana. And where there is no oil on the beaches you probably don't need people walking up and down in Hazmat suits. So you'll probably see that kind of a pullback."

Mr Dudley said more mud would be pumped into the top of the oil cap during next week, as BP engineers continue to work to make a permanent seal.

On 20th April, the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 workers and causing an oil spill that soon became the worst environmental disaster in US history.