It has been reported that the crippled oil well in the Gulf of Mexico reached a static condition, an event BP called a significant milestone on Wednesday.

BP said in a statement on its Web site that the well pressure is being controlled by hydrostatic pressure of the drilling mud pumped into the well from above, which is "the desired outcome" of the "static kill" procedure begun on Tuesday.

BP said that the procedure was stopped after about 8 hours of pumping drilling mud into the well. The well is being monitored to ensure it remains static. More drilling mud may be pumped into the well, depending on what officials learn from the monitoring.

It has also been reported that the "static kill" operation is part of the overall effort to plug permanently the well that spewed an estimated 206 million gallons of crude into the gulf between April 20, when an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig ruptured the well, killing 11 workers, and July 15, when the well was temporarily capped.

According to BP, it would work with federal officials to determine next steps, which involve assessing whether to inject cement in the well from above.

BP further said on its site, "The aim of these procedures is to assist with the strategy to kill and isolate the well, and will complement the upcoming relief well operation, which will continue as per plan."

A relief well remains "the ultimate solution" to kill the well, BP and government officials have said. The first relief well is expected to intercept the damaged well in mid-August. A second relief well is being drilled as a redundancy.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said at a briefing Wednesday the "static kill" is "sort of the beginning of the end of the sealing and containment phase of this operation."

Gibbs said, "I want to be, though, very clear, as the president was, that our commitment to those families, to those communities in and along the Gulf Coast remains the same as it always has been. We are transitioning and will transition to a greater focus on cleanup and damage assessment. There is still lot of work to do, and this government will be here every step of the way to do that work." (With Inputs from Agencies)