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Will Britain bail out BP?

A

Anonymous

Guest
OK-- If BP- another of the multinational conglomerates that was allowed to get too big to fail- goes broke- will the British bail it out- and pay the huge growing ecological costs that are amounting due to their activities :???:
Or will the US taxpayer get stuck with them :???:

BP shares plummet around the world

By David Goldman, staff writer
June 1, 2010: 4:29 PM ET


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Shares of BP tumbled in U.S. and overseas stock markets Tuesday after its latest attempt to stop the Gulf of Mexico oil leak failed.

BP's (BP) stock sank 15% in U.S. trading, down $6.40 to $36.55. It also fell 14% on the London Stock Exchange. The British oil giant's stock has plummeted nearly 40% since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded on April 20, losing $74.9 billion of shareholder value. BP's market capitalization fell by $20 billion on Tuesday alone.


BP is a British global energy company which is the third largest energy company and the fourth largest company in the world. As a multinational oil company ("oil major") BP is the UK's largest corporation, with its headquarters in St James's, City of Westminster, London.

BP America's headquarters is in the Two Westlake Park in the Energy Corridor area of Houston, Texas. The company is among the largest private sector energy corporations in the world, and one of the six "supermajors" (vertically integrated private sector oil exploration, natural gas, and petroleum product marketing companies).

The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

Oil hits Alabama, Mississippi barrier islands
By The CNN Wire Staff
June 1, 2010 7:57 p.m. EDT

Rust-colored oil washed ashore on barrier islands off Alabama and Mississippi on Tuesday, while more patches of crude offshore appeared to be moving toward those states' coasts, authorities reported.

Researchers scrambled to clean up tar balls and puddles of oil from the beaches of Alabama's Dauphin Island, while a strip of oil about two miles long and three feet wide stretched along Petit Bois Island, about five miles away off Mississippi, Gov. Haley Barbour's office reported.
 

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
Oldtimer said:
OK-- If BP- another of the multinational conglomerates that was allowed to get too big to fail- goes broke- will the British bail it out- and pay the huge growing ecological costs that are amounting due to their activities :???:
Or will the US taxpayer get stuck with them :???:

Not sure if you have heard, but the British are broke. They don't have the funds to bailout BP, if they go broke over this.

What would be so wrong with letting them file bankruptcy, if it came to that?

edited to add: There is only a 1% difference in UK (40%) ownership and US (39%) ownership of BP.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
hypocritexposer said:
Oldtimer said:
OK-- If BP- another of the multinational conglomerates that was allowed to get too big to fail- goes broke- will the British bail it out- and pay the huge growing ecological costs that are amounting due to their activities :???: Or will the US taxpayer get stuck with them :???:
Not sure if you have heard, but the British are broke. They don't have the funds to bailout BP, if they go broke over this. What would be so wrong with letting them file bankruptcy, if it came to that? edited to add: There is only a 1% difference in UK (40%) ownership and US (39%) ownership of BP.

Nothing--but who would want a bankrupt company that owes $zillions in ecological costs if this spill keeps on going- and takes oil around the world- as some scientists are speculating today.... :???:

If they run out of assets- who picks up the cost? Britain :???:

I wonder if they're insured by AIG :???:
 

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
You're assuming that all liability for this disaster will be the responsibility of BP, prematurely, aren't you?

other responsible parties may include

1) the US Government
2) Transocean
3) Halliburton
4) Cameron International

and there are probably a few others involved.
 

jingo2

Well-known member
You think Halliburton will pay??? LOLOLOL!!!!

They've ruined most of this country here......can't walk for'em.
 

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
OT, there are a couple of other companies involved that I found, while doing some reading.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp., which owns a 25 percent stake, and Mitsui & Co. which has a 10 percent share of this well.

Just to give you an idea of the insurance these guys carry.

Anadarko's 25% stake is insured for $177.5 Million.

and as far as BP's ability to pay:

The company’s cash reserves are enough to pay any judgments, “even if they spent $20 billion on this,” said Argus analyst Weiss. “I haven’t heard any numbers yet that the company would be hamstrung.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=conewsstory&tkr=APC%3AUS&sid=aIqx0cAR7SM8


BP's doesn't seem to have any external insurance on this well, but Transocean has a $700 Million policy.

Even if BP succeeds in its attempt to secure insurance, it will cover only a small portion of the total costs to it from the accident. Analysts for Swiss Re have estimated that the total insured losses from the accident could reach $3.5 billion. According to UBS the final bill could be as much as $12 billion.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/natural_resources/article7136789.ece



So, I wouldn't go claiming that BP owned wind turbine beside your ranch just yet. :wink:
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
The company’s cash reserves are enough to pay any judgments, “even if they spent $20 billion on this,” said Argus analyst Weiss. “I haven’t heard any numbers yet that the company would be hamstrung.”

$20 Billion may just be a drop in the bucket of the total cost before this gets over...Today BP is saying it will be August before they can get relief wells drilled to lower the flow pressure to even give them a chance at capping it....

I wonder how many Gulf state and east coast folks that supported the "drill, drill, drill" policy- are now going to say - "not in my backyard"... :???:
 

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
Oldtimer said:
The company’s cash reserves are enough to pay any judgments, “even if they spent $20 billion on this,” said Argus analyst Weiss. “I haven’t heard any numbers yet that the company would be hamstrung.”

$20 Billion may just be a drop in the bucket of the total cost before this gets over...Today BP is saying it will be August before they can get relief wells drilled to lower the flow pressure to even give them a chance at capping it....

I wonder how many Gulf state and east coast folks that supported the "drill, drill, drill" policy- are now going to say - "not in my backyard"... :???:

Which Drill, baby, Drill policy OT? Has it changed over the last 40 years?
 

andybob

Well-known member
I doubt the British taxpayers are any more responsible for a private company than are the USA taxpayers for say, Union Carbide when they had the chemical spill in India, it is fortunate that they accepted the miniscule settlement, had it happened in a western country, they would have been sued into bankrupcy.
 

Cowpuncher

Well-known member
For the sake of argument, assume that all the costs total to some $10 Billion.

1. Anadarko and Mitsui own 35% which reduces BP share to $6.5 Billion.

2. BP's US operations in the US are profitable so that BP would reduce their income tax by $2.3 Billion leaving them with a net cash loss of $4.2
Billion. BP made some $12Billion last year.

3. All that assumes that the Feds will pay nothing as would Transocean, Halliburton and Cameron.

In any case, a lot of the expenses won't be paid until the litigation is over and done with. The lawyers will get their share, but remember, the Exxon Valdez costs were many years before it was settled.

I guess I am disappointed at the vitrol directed at the Company. Hindsight would indicate that they did things wrong, but with the approval of MMS. Of course, don't expect the Feds to own up to anything.

Obama, instead of instigating a witchhunt against BP et al, should do everything right now to mitigate the damage and shut the well down. For example, ask Exxon, Chevron. Shell and Conoco-Phillips for technical assistance if it is needed.

Blowing teleprompter smoke on national TV isn't going to stop the well.

We have at least a short term, and probably long term crisis where petroleum is needed to keep the world economy running. Everyone who drives or rides in a car, bus plane or train has an interest in our energy supply being uninterrupted.

We heat our homes with gas. (Since Salazar put a major part pf the Western US out of bounds for drilling, offshore is the only place to go without being subjected to expropriation Like Venzuela and most of the countries in the middle east.)

BP is hardly a neophyte in offshore operations. They operate several field including Forties in the North sea, And, if I am not mistaken, they bought Indiana Standard whowas a very able company.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
hypocritexposer said:
Oldtimer said:
The company’s cash reserves are enough to pay any judgments, “even if they spent $20 billion on this,” said Argus analyst Weiss. “I haven’t heard any numbers yet that the company would be hamstrung.”
$20 Billion may just be a drop in the bucket of the total cost before this gets over...Today BP is saying it will be August before they can get relief wells drilled to lower the flow pressure to even give them a chance at capping it.... I wonder how many Gulf state and east coast folks that supported the "drill, drill, drill" policy- are now going to say - "not in my backyard"... :???:
Which Drill, baby, Drill policy OT? Has it changed over the last 40 years?

September 4, 2008, 8:26 AM ET. Palin’s Policy: Drill, Baby, Drill By Jeffrey Ball Among many applause lines from the speakers at the Republican convention last night, one stood out: Drill, baby, drill. Michael Steele, the former lieutenant governor of Maryland, launched the line, prompting howls of approval from the crowd. Rudolph Guiliani, the former New York mayor, repeated it, if almost as an afterthought. And Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, echoed the sentiment, to even louder cheers of the crowd.

This "Drill Baby Drill policy" comes to mind first..

And if you don't believe this catastrophe in the Gulf is not affecting peoples views on drilling- especially off shore drilling- then you're looking thru Rose colored glasses again...Even Republican Governors and lawmakers are taking a sit back and wait or not in my backyard attitudes as the home folks put pressure on them..

And I am pro drilling- but only if done responsibly...I've seen oil fields, oil/gas pipelines, and coal mines that were reclaimed beautifully with little or no damage to the area....I've also over the years seen oil fields that were pig stys- with water polluted miles around it- and the prairie left with nothing growing....

cowpuncher:
Obama, instead of instigating a witchhunt against BP et al, should do everything right now to mitigate the damage and shut the well down. For example, ask Exxon, Chevron. Shell and Conoco-Phillips for technical assistance if it is needed.

I have to chuckle again- any other time the right thinks government can't do anything right- and should keep their nose out of all industry and private enterprise-and let them solve their own problems- but now they want Obama to solve all their problems :roll: :wink: :lol:
Can't BP ask Exxon, Chevron. Shell and Conoco-Phillips for technical assistance if it is needed-- and don't you think they probably have.... :???:
 

Cowpuncher

Well-known member
When it costs $3-400to fill up your pickup tank, it will change a lot of minds.

Gasoline prices in March, 2010 were as follows:
Belgium---$7.18
Germany--$7.12
Netherlands $7.68
UK-----------$6.65

In July, 2008 prices were:

Belgium-----$9.40
Germany----$8.92
Netherlands-$10.64
UK------------$8.91

It doesn't take a lot of arithmetic to figure out that we need a steady supply of crude oil to keep our economy running.


And we don't have GW to blame anymore.
 

hopalong

Well-known member
Cowpuncher said:
And we don't have GW to blame anymore.

oldtimer will find a way, heck he tried to blame GW for the fall of the Roman Empire :wink: :wink:
Just like he is trying to blame him for todays problems and the lack of transparity that we have today!!!! :roll: :roll:
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
But there is good coming out of the catastrophe-- I hear Dems and Repubs alike talking about looking at alternative fuels-- and not relying totally on oil- and Drill Baby Drill policies...Dems talking about nuclear- clean coal - natural gas (both of which we have unlimited amounts of)...Repubs talking about advancements in windpower and the electrical grids and use of electricity to replace some oil ...

And I say that with owning land and having mineral leases in the Bakken field...

Only bad thing is its 10-20 years too late- should have probably been doing it- and moving that direction ever since old Jimmy Carter proposed much of it...But- just like old Boone says- I know that even if we start now- oil will still be in demand 50-70 years from now, unless there are some major breakthrus in technology-- and this is one problem that we can't just drill our way out of...
 

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
Repubs. and Dems have been talking about less reliance on oil for the last 50 years.

When are we going to see some action?

This disaster isn't going to do anything for renewable energy in the short term. BP is one of the largest investors in alternative energy in the World.

I have a feeling their money is going to be tied up for the next few years.
 

loomixguy

Well-known member
The Saudi's have the technology to retrieve spilled oil from the ocean, but all TWAP can send to the Gulf is lawyers. That ain't gonna fix the problem. Instead of trying to figger out who all the guilty parties are, the time could be better spent attempting to fix the problem. It doesn't require an Ivy League education to come to that conclusion.
 

Cowpuncher

Well-known member
Look up gasoline and diesel consumption in the US for the past 60 years.

Anyone that believes that any significant cut in fossil fuels is possible is not living in the real world or they are just plain dense.

Electricity made from wind or solar costs about 13 cents per kilowatt. Here in Coloradp, the current retail is 5 or 6 cents.

A hundred million people are waiting for a miraculous discovery and a few thousand are looking for it.
 

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
Cowpuncher said:
Look up gasoline and diesel consumption in the US for the past 60 years.

Anyone that believes that any significant cut in fossil fuels is possible is not living in the real world or they are just plain dense.

Electricity made from wind or solar costs about 13 cents per kilowatt. Here in Coloradp, the current retail is 5 or 6 cents.

A hundred million people are waiting for a miraculous discovery and a few thousand are looking for it.

exactly. Alternative energy can't even keep up with the increase in usage annually.
 
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