FACTBOX-Developments in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill

July 16 (Reuters) - Here are some developments in BP Plc's (BP.L) (BP.N) Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the largest in U.S. history.

TOP DEVELOPMENTS

* BP Plc's (BP.N) (BP.L) stricken oil well showed no sign of leaking on Friday after a new cap stopped crude flow into the Gulf of Mexico but President Barack Obama cautioned there was more work to do before the gusher was permanently stopped. [ID:nN15255571]

* The U.S. government will allow crucial pressure tests on BP Plc's blown-out oil well to proceed on Friday evening as readings so far are inconclusive, the official in charge of overseeing the spill response said.[ID:nN15134772]

MARKET IMPACT/COMPANIES

* Oil and gas producer Apache Corp (APA.N) is seeking $6 billion to $7 billion financing to purchase up to $10 billion in assets from BP Plc in a deal that could be announced next week, CNBC reported on Thursday. [ID:nN15217650]

* Shareholders angry about BP Plc's battered stock price are heading to the courthouse in hopes of reclaiming some of their losses but they face an uphill battle.[ID:nN1689558]

* Omega Protein Corp (OME.N), a fish oil and meal products maker, said it filed a claim with oil major BP for reimbursement of costs or lost profits resulting from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. [ID:nSGE66E0LN]

* BP shares closed up 1.34 percent in London while shares in New York closed down 4.68 percent on Friday.

POLITICS/POLICY

* The Scottish government denied on Friday it had any contact with oil firm BP before its decision last year to release the Libyan man convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie airline bombing. [ID:nLDE66F1OB]

* A key Republican on Thursday accused the U.S. Interior Department of not cooperating with an investigation of the government's oversight on the BP oil spill and threatened to subpoena the Obama administration. [ID:nN15212652]

* The U.S. official overseeing a $20 billion oil spill compensation fund on Thursday urged Gulf Coast residents harmed by BP Plc to file claims promptly rather than wait for the outcome of eventual lawsuits. [ID:nN15223876]

* Legislation that could bar BP from getting new offshore oil leases in the United States passed another obstacle in Congress on Thursday while a separate bill to boost safety requirements for offshore drilling advanced through another congressional panel. [ID:nN15210454]

CAPTURE/CONTAINMENT/CLEANUP

* A Taiwanese-owned "super skimmer" ship sent to help clean up the Gulf of Mexico spill has collected virtually no oil in two weeks of tests, a U.S. Coast Guard official said on Friday. [ID:nN16559996]

(Compiled by Alyson Zepeda in Houston; editing by Todd Eastham and Bill Trott)