An oil cleanup worker rakes the sand Sunday in Orange Beach, Ala. BP hopes to keep using its giant stopper to block oil from reaching the Gulf of Mexico until it plugs the blown-out well permanently.

New Orleans ? BP and the Obama administration offered significantly differing views Sunday on whether the capped Gulf of Mexico oil well will have to be reopened, a contradiction that may be an effort by the oil giant to avoid blame if crude starts spewing again.

Pilloried for nearly three months as it tried repeatedly to stop the leak, BP PLC capped the nearly mile-deep well Thursday and wants to keep it that way. The government’s plan, however, is to eventually pipe oil to the surface, which would ease pressure on the fragile well but would require up to three more days of oil spilling into the Gulf.

“No one associated with this whole activity … wants to see any more oil flow into the Gulf of Mexico,” Doug Suttles, BP’s chief operating officer, said Sunday.

But retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the Obama administration’s spill response chief, said a seep had been detected a distance from the busted oil well, and he demanded that BP provide results of further testing of the seabed Sunday night. Allen didn’t say what was coming from the seep.

The concern — since pressure readings on the cap weren’t as high as expected — was a leak elsewhere in the wellbore, meaning the cap may have to be reopened to prevent the environmental disaster from becoming even worse.

“When seeps are detected, you are directed to marshal resources, quickly investigate, and report findings to the government in no more than four hours. I direct you to provide me a written procedure for opening the choke valve as quickly as possible without damaging the well should hydrocarbon seepage near the well head be confirmed,” Allen said in a letter to BP Managing Director Bob Dudley.

An administration official familiar with the spill oversight told The Associated Press that the seep and possible methane were found near the well. The official spoke on condition of anonymity Sunday because an announcement about the next steps had not been made yet. The official also would not clarify what is seeping near the well.

When asked about the situation earlier Sunday before the letter was released, BP spokesman Mark Salt would only say that “we continue to work very closely with all government scientists on this.”

Allen insisted Sunday that “nothing has changed” since Saturday, when he said oil would eventually be piped to surface ships. The government is overseeing BP’s work to stop the leak, which is to be plugged with a relief well.

Allen decided to extend testing of the cap that had been scheduled to end Sunday, the official who spoke on condition of anonymity said. That means the oil will stay in the well for now as scientists continue to run tests and monitor pressure readings. The official didn’t say how long that would take. Officials at the Department of Homeland Security referred questions to a statement issued by Allen; neither he nor BP officials could explain the apparent contradiction in plans.

Suttles’ comments carved out an important piece of turf for BP: If Allen sticks with the containment plan and oil again pours forth into the Gulf, even briefly, it will be the government’s doing, not BP’s.

The company very much wants to avoid a repeat of the live underwater video that showed millions of gallons of oil spewing from the blown well for weeks.

“I can see why they’re pushing for keeping the cap on and shut in until the relief well is in place,” said Daniel Keeney, president of a Dallas-based public relations firm.

The government wants to eliminate any chance of making matters worse, while BP is loath to lose the momentum it gained the moment it finally halted the leak, Keeney said.

Scientists still aren’t sure whether the pressure readings mean a leak elsewhere in the well bore, possibly deep down in bedrock, which could make the seabed unstable. Oil would be have to be released into the water to relieve pressure and allow crews to hook up the ships, BP and Allen have said.