Photo shows the damaged Blow Out Preventer (BOP) from the Deepwater Horizon oil rig being pull out by the Q4000 vessel in the Gulf of Mexico. [Photo/Xinhua]

HOUSTON - British oil giant BP said Saturday it finished pumping cement into the bottom of the damaged oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, in the final stage of sealing the well for good.

The London-based company said in a statement that the cement-pumping, known as "bottom kill", had finished.

It said earlier that the well will be completely sealed after cement sets.

Confirmation that the well is permanently sealed will mark the official end of the saga that began on April 20, when an explosion on BP-leased Deepwater Horizon drilling rig killed 11 workers and unleashing the worst oil spill in US history.