BP succeeded on Sunday in its second attempt at inserting a new tube into its damaged oil pipe that has been gushing oil from the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico for three and a half weeks, according to BP and federal officials.

The four-inch wide pipe was inserted into the leaking riser, from which the majority of the flow of oil is coming. If it works, it could siphon a substantial amount of the oil leaking from the damaged well into barges and tankers floating on the surface of the sea.

The company's first effort late Saturday night succeeded initially, but the new tube got yanked out after the umbilical cord of a Remotely-Operated Vehicle got entangled with the tube's line to the surface, according to sources familiar with the project.

After workers installed the tube on the first try, which is like inserting one straw into another, gas found its way to the surface and was flared, showing that the tube had successfully funneled gas and some oil from the leak.