NEW ORLEANS — BP says it may in the future drill in the same Gulf of Mexico oil reservoir that blew its top and caused one of the world's worst spills.

Officials said today at a news briefing in New Orleans that the company hasn't closed the door to tapping the reservoir again.

Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles said "there's lots of oil and gas here." He said "we're going to have to think about what to do with that at some point."

The company is plugging up the blown-out well with mud and cement. Officials have also been drilling two relief wells in a planned effort to plug the hole from the bottom.

BP says it will abandon the blown well and the relief wells but is leaving open the option of drilling nearby.