FACTBOX-Developments in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill

July 1 (Reuters) - Here are some developments in BP's Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the largest in U.S. history.

TOP DEVELOPMENTS

* Tropical storm Alex slowed oil clean-up and containment efforts in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday, with any permanent fix to BP Plc's (BP.L)(BP.N) ruptured deep-sea oil well still several weeks away. [ID:nN30271159]

TROPICAL STORM ALEX

* Hurricane Alex weakened to a tropical storm on Thursday as it moved across northeastern Mexico, dumping heavy rain that flooded a major city as U.S. companies began to restart halted oil production. [ID:nWNA4809]

MARKET IMPACT/COMPANIES

* BP shares extended gains on Thursday, with traders initially citing talk -- quickly shot down -- it had capped the leaking well. It closed up almost three percent in London and 1.77 percent higher in New York.

* BP's shares have still lost around 50 percent of their value since the spill started after an oil rig exploded in the Gulf in April.

POLITICS/POLICY

* The Obama administration expects to announce a revised deep-water offshore oil drilling moratorium in the next few days, the White House said on Thursday. [nN01157835]

* The U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee voted to eliminate limits on liability that oil companies would face for oil spill damages. The measure now goes before the full Senate. It would also need to win passage in the U.S. House of Representatives before becoming law.

ENVIRONMENT

* Initial tests of the dispersant BP is using to break up oil in the Gulf of Mexico show it does not harm endocrine systems in aquatic life, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said. [ID:nN30228417]

* Environmental groups filed suit against BP, seeking to halt controlled burns of spilled oil on the surface of the Gulf because they say endangered sea turtles are being burned alive in the process. [ID:nN30248285]

* The spill's toll on birds is set to get drastically worse, scientists say. [ID:nN28250169]

OIL SPILL CAPTURE/CONTAINMENT/CLEANUP

* A massive ship converted into a "super skimmer" has arrived in the Gulf to assist with cleanup of the BP oil spill, a government spokeswoman said on Thursday. [ID:nN01150876]

* BP said on Thursday its oil-capture systems at the leaking well collected or burned off 23,080 barrels of oil on Wednesday. [ID:nN01124364]

* An undetermined amount of oil continued to billow out from under the cap and through vents on top into the sea. A team of U.S. scientists estimate the leak is gushing up to 60,000 barrels a day. (Compiled by Ed Stoddard; editing by Todd Eastham)