Tag: news at noon

The oil giant’s stock, which has nearly halved in value since an explosion on an offshore rig on April 20, slid over 4.0 percent after the document estimated the rate at 100,000 barrels per day (15.9 million liters) versus the government estimate of 60,000 barrels.

BP spokesman Toby Odone said the document appeared to be genuine but the estimate applied only to a situation in which a key piece of equipment called a blowout preventer is removed.

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BP oil spill costs hit $2 billion

The British oil company said it would not be distracted by a dispute with Anadarko Petroleum Corp. The owner of a quarter of the well gushing into the Gulf broke its near-silence on the spill to squarely pin blame — and financial responsibility — on BP.

“There appears to be gross negligence or willful misconduct,” Houston-based Anadarko Chairman and CEO Jim Hackett said in an interview that helped to drive his company’s shares up 2.2 percent in after-hours trading on the hopes it could avoid multi-billion-dollar liabilities.

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Gulf oil spill to pressure oil exploration-Chile minister

The worst oil spill in U.S. history, from a leaking deepwater well in the Gulf of Mexico, has strained the reputation of U.S. President Barack Obama, sullied the region’s rich wildlife, and wounded its fishing and tourism industries.

The likely cost of cleanup, compensation and fines has almost halved the value of BP — once Britain’s biggest company.

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Shares in BP, which nearly halved in value since the April 20 explosion on an offshore rig that led to the spill, rose 8 percent. Analysts said some of the heat had been taken off the company by its move to set up the fund and suspend its dividend.

U.S. President Barack Obama announced the agreement on Wednesday after White House officials held four hours of talks with BP executives. The British company’s bosses emerged from the discussions to offer an apology for the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

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Obama delivered his high-profile speech, coming on the 57th day since the start of the huge BP oil spill, from the White House Oval Office, a venue presidents normally reserve for announcing major initiatives or explaining important developments.

This speech was mostly the latter, which likely will be a disappointment to supporters of strong legislation to clamp down on offshore oil drilling practices and carbon dioxide pollution blamed for global warming.

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A series of suicides at Foxconn, an electronics maker with a huge plant in southern China, has intensified attention on discontent in China’s labor force.

Here are some questions and answers about the unrest.

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With America’s largest-ever environmental disaster nearing the two-month mark, the president will press BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg at their first meeting on Wednesday to set up an escrow account to pay damage claims by individuals and businesses hurt by the oil spill disaster.

BP executives will also be grilled by U.S. lawmakers at congressional committee hearings on Tuesday and Thursday.

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The two leaders will discuss the crisis against the backdrop of public anger and political pressure on both sides of the Atlantic over the spill, which has fouled coastlines, closed rich fishing grounds and battered BP’s share price.

BP has been the target of stinging attacks by the White House and its share price has gyrated on London and New York stock exchanges this week. Obama administration officials have threatened to increase BP’s liabilities for the spill.

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Obama fights critics on spill response: report

Responding to moves by U.S. officials to grab more BP cash for the cleanup, British ministers heeded calls to defend the UK’s biggest payer of share dividends and stand up to perceived Britain-bashing by President Barack Obama.

“We are all concerned about the human and environmental impact and as the Prime Minister has said we understand the concerns of the U.S. administration,” Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said after speaking to BP chief executive Tony Hayward by telephone.

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Shares in the British oil company sank to their lowest since 1997 in London trading on Thursday, catching up with a sharp fall in the U.S., before bouncing off their lows as U.S. trading prepared to start.

The cost of insuring BP’s AA-rated debt traded for a time at levels normally associated with “junk” status.

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