Barack Obama cautious on new move to halt Gulf oil leak
Barack Obama is facing growing pressure over the Gulf disaster
US President Barack Obama has said it is "way too early to be optimistic" as he made his third visit to the oil-hit Gulf of Mexico coast.
Earlier BP expressed confidence that a new cap placed over the ruptured well in the Gulf would capture most of the leaking oil.
But it said it could take 48 hours to know if the system was stable.
Mr Obama has been briefed in Louisiana by Adm Thad Allen, the US official leading the disaster response.
The BBC＇s North America editor Mark Mardell says the political fallout from the spill is growing, and the president＇s visit is part of efforts to combat criticism of his handling of the situation.
Analysis
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Mark Mardell
BBC News, Washington
With every day that passes, President Obama has cranked up the rhetoric. Last night on Larry King Live he said that he was "furious" with BP and that they had felt his anger.
Now, in Louisiana, he has suggested they are being mean towards fishermen and others over financial claims against the company while spending millions on TV ads and preparing to dole out a lot more to shareholders.
This has already earned him headlines about "slamming" BP. This will surely delight the White House, which has been under pressure for a fortnight from the Washington press corps, who think their president hasn＇t been angry enough. The White House spokesman has already pointed out that if yelling and jumping up and down would stop the leak, the president would have obliged on the first night.
Mr Obama＇s harsher tone may not block the hole but it might quieten some critics who are less worried about solving problems than watching satisfying emotional theatre.
After landing at New Orleans airport, Mr Obama met Adm Allen for a briefing before driving to Grand Isle, a barrier island town hit by the spill.
Speaking to reporters after the briefing, the president said there seemed to be progress but it was too soon to be optimistic about a solution to the spill.
He criticised BP for failing to rule out a quarterly shareholder dividend, saying the company should not be "nickel and diming" Gulf coast residents over damage claims while spending billions on the dividends.
Federal officials would watch to make sure BP lived up to its promises and dealt with residents＇ claims "quickly and fairly", he said.
Mr Obama also questioned whether BP should be spending a reported $50m on TV advertising to improve its image while the crisis was still going on.
"This has been a disaster for this region, and people are understandably frightened and concerned about what the next few months and the next few years may hold," he added.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Mr Obama had invited the families of the 11 workers killed when the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and sank in April to visit the White House next Thursday.
The president＇s third trip to the Gulf came as beaches in the key tourist area of north-west Florida saw their first major signs of oil.
Mr Obama has for the second time postponed a trip to Australia, Indonesia and Guam in order to deal with the crisis.
Speaking earlier on Friday, Adm Allen said rough estimates showed that 1,000 barrels a day were being captured through the containment cap.
This is only a small part of the 12,000-19,000 barrels a day believed to be leaking.
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