A tropical depression has forced British Petroleum to stop work on the relief well intended to permanently plug the busted oil well in the Gulf of Mexico.

Officials said it will now be two or three days before they can complete the task.  A temporary plug is being put into place in the meantime.

Currently, drilling crews are only about 30 to 50 feet away from finishing the relief well.

Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the government's point man on the spill, said the last steps will have to wait for ending any threat from the well that spewed more than 200 million gallons of oil over three months before a temporary cap sealed it in mid-July.

Meanwhile, forecasters are predicting the depression will strengthen into a tropical storm named Danielle as it moves toward the Louisiana coast.

The tropical storm warning is in effect for much of the area along the Gulf Coast affected by the oil spill.