Despite the fact that BP has finally managed to successfully plug the undersea gusher in the Gulf of Mexico, officials of the Obama administration Sunday promised that they will continue to retain their focus on the Gulf Coast – reprimanding BP for US’ worst oil spill, and cleaning up the remnants of the mess.

Even though a last-week report from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said that almost 75 percent of the oil spilled between late April and mid-July had been collected, dispersed or evaporated, former Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen - the administration’s point man for the disaster – said that a steady hand had to be kept at the tiller to keep the cleanup going.

Allen said: “It's a catastrophe. It's a catastrophe for the people of the Gulf, and it requires our attention until we get the job done.”

In another statement expressing similar concerns, White House environmental adviser Carol Browner told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that even though the “first phase” of the disaster was over, it does not, in any way, imply that the calamity had ended.

However, with the oil spill response having clearly downsized, BP spokesman Tom Mueller said that though the company and the government will stay ready to respond to new sightings of oil, there will be lesser resources available in places where oil is not present.