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British government officials on Friday took shots at the Obama administration for the barrage of criticism it is leveling at BP PLC (NYSE ADR: BP) over the Gulf oil spill, sparking a rally in its beaten-down shares, even as it weighs cutting or deferring its dividend.
In an apparent swipe at the U.S. President's comments about the British company, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg insisted finger-pointing is unhelpful, "I don't, frankly, think we will reach a solution to stopping release of oil into the ocean any quicker by allowing this to spiral into a tit for tat political diplomatic spat," Clegg told the Daily Mail.
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne also backed BP with a statement after speaking to BP chief executive Tony Hayward by telephone. "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," Osborne told Reuters.
In an apparent swipe at the U.S. President's comments about the British company, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg insisted finger-pointing is unhelpful, "I don't, frankly, think we will reach a solution to stopping release of oil into the ocean any quicker by allowing this to spiral into a tit for tat political diplomatic spat," Clegg told the Daily Mail.
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne also backed BP with a statement after speaking to BP chief executive Tony Hayward by telephone. "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," Osborne told Reuters.
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"The prime minister is also clear that we need constructive solutions and that we remember the economic value BP brings to people in Britain and America," Osborne added after calls from British business leaders, politicians and newspapers to defend BP. Some in the British media have portrayed Obama's comments as Britain-bashing.
Their comments came after senior Obama administration officials threatened to increase BP's liabilities for the spill and U.S. lawmakers pressured the company to suspend its quarterly dividend to ensure it has enough cash to pay for cleaning up the mess.
Millions of gallons of oil have gushed into the Gulf since an April 20 explosion on an offshore rig killed 11 workers and ruptured a deep-sea well, which has now become the biggest environmental disaster in U.S. history. On Thursday, U.S. scientists doubled their estimate of the amount of oil flowing from the well,
Shares in BP, which has lost over 40% of their value since the crisis began on April 20, advanced 7% in London trading on Friday, rebounding from Thursday's 13-year low and extending a rally that began in New York on Thursday.
"Possibly people have taken heart from the fact that the political rhetoric is not just one side of the Atlantic," Barclays PLC (NYSE ADR: BCS) analyst Lucy Haskins told Reuters.
British Prime Minister David Cameron, who took office in May, was scheduled to discuss the crisis in a telephone call with Obama on Saturday.
British investors are particularly concerned about the calls from U.S. lawmakers for BP to suspend its dividend.
Initial concern over the dividend surfaced on June 4, when Obama brought up BP's $50 million public-relations advertising campaign and the company's $10.5 billion annual dividend.
BP may cut or defer the $2.5 billion dividend due to be announced on July 27 or offer scrip -- an IOU to shareholders, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
"We are considering all options on the dividend. But no decision has been made," BP's Hayward told the Journal.
The Times of London, citing people familiar with the situation, reported Friday that BP will place the funds in an escrow account until the company can determine its liabilities from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Roughly 40% of BP's shareholders reside in the U. S., with an equal amount based in Britain.
News & Related Story Links:
Their comments came after senior Obama administration officials threatened to increase BP's liabilities for the spill and U.S. lawmakers pressured the company to suspend its quarterly dividend to ensure it has enough cash to pay for cleaning up the mess.
Millions of gallons of oil have gushed into the Gulf since an April 20 explosion on an offshore rig killed 11 workers and ruptured a deep-sea well, which has now become the biggest environmental disaster in U.S. history. On Thursday, U.S. scientists doubled their estimate of the amount of oil flowing from the well,
Shares in BP, which has lost over 40% of their value since the crisis began on April 20, advanced 7% in London trading on Friday, rebounding from Thursday's 13-year low and extending a rally that began in New York on Thursday.
"Possibly people have taken heart from the fact that the political rhetoric is not just one side of the Atlantic," Barclays PLC (NYSE ADR: BCS) analyst Lucy Haskins told Reuters.
British Prime Minister David Cameron, who took office in May, was scheduled to discuss the crisis in a telephone call with Obama on Saturday.
British investors are particularly concerned about the calls from U.S. lawmakers for BP to suspend its dividend.
Initial concern over the dividend surfaced on June 4, when Obama brought up BP's $50 million public-relations advertising campaign and the company's $10.5 billion annual dividend.
BP may cut or defer the $2.5 billion dividend due to be announced on July 27 or offer scrip -- an IOU to shareholders, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
"We are considering all options on the dividend. But no decision has been made," BP's Hayward told the Journal.
The Times of London, citing people familiar with the situation, reported Friday that BP will place the funds in an escrow account until the company can determine its liabilities from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Roughly 40% of BP's shareholders reside in the U. S., with an equal amount based in Britain.
News & Related Story Links:
- Daily Mail:
Clegg warns against transatlantic 'tit-for-tat'
- Reuters:
British govt sticks up for BP, spill looks worse - Wall Street Journal:
BP Weighs Dividend Cut - Times of London:
BP plans to defer dividend after pressure from Obama
More on this topic
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(Wealth Daily, 6/28/10)
4-Month Trajectory of Gulf Oil Spill Shows Grim Outlook
(Energy and Capital, 6/11/10)
Clean Harbors (CLH) Assisting In Gulf Oil Spill Clean-Up, Expects 15-20% Increase In Revenues
(Green Stocks Central, 5/18/10)
Tags: Barack Obama, BP, David Cameron, Dividend, Dividend Cut, Don Miller, Gulf Oil Spill, Nick Clegg, Stocks
I am an American but I believe that the Brits have the right of this issue. The main thrust of what the Obama administration has done in the wake of this spill is to finger-point, focus on legal actions and pose on the beach in Louisiana for "leadership" photo-ops. None of these efforts are helpful- all are aimed at shifting the blame and in ensuring their CYA. I believe that BP has been fully engaged on focusing real efforts against a massively complex problem. The thought that the Feds would threaten to "take over" the abatement efforts is ludicrous. This administration has not particularly distinguished itself in the solution of any problems let alone an event that would require bleeding edge technology. What I believe that many of us forget, is that we live in a world where we all demand the benefits of a high energy civilization- that takes energy, and lots of it. To find that energy takes technology, courage and, yes, risk. Green energy is decades away from providing even a fraction of what we all demand. If we lost that energy even for a few days we would hear whining that would far outstrip the current volume heard about the spill today.
Let's focus on technical (not legal) solutions. Posturing and lawsuit threats against the people who have promised to make reparations and are working hard on solving this problem is not only unhelpful- it is denying our role in the demand for energy that drives the risks that can create the potential for these issues in the first place. High support for technological solutions is helpful- political hyperbole and hypocracy is not.
BP is going to be facing a mountain of lawsuits in the coming years over this oil spill.
There is so much more to this than meets the eye. No one is bashing the British Folks…. but the are strongly anti BP and can you blame them?
I would not trust BP as far as I could throw them – that isn’t all that far either!!! There have been reports that BP has stopped the media from accessing the reality of this spill… and they have stopped plance flying over to photograph what is turning out – has turned out to be the biggest MESS of its kind in US History.
Do you – would you trust BP?
As I understand it, for every barrel of oil spewed out – lost – poured out in a disaster, a fine will be imposed. It would seem that this knowledge has been behind the reason BP initially downplayed the estimate of oil at 5000 barrels per day. Now that a tally can be kept of what is being piped aboard the other rig and boats that will store, for processing, this oil, a better estimate of the fines accruing can be made.
This will not of course include all the millions of barrels of oil BP has dispersed – via the use of toxic chemicals – into the waters of the gulf, and possibly worldwide!
I mean if you can’t see it, you can’t count it – so therefore it isn’t there coz YOU can’t prove it! MORE INFORMATION: http://just-me-in-t.blogspot.com/2010/06/if-you-cant-measure-it-how-can-you-fine.html
[...] June 13, 2010 Brit Officials Defend BP on Gulf Oil Spill As it Weighs Dividend Cut [...]
Nothing in this article surprises me. It sickens me. Meanwhile BP is cleaning up dead animals in the middle of the night, reporters and photographers are now being kept far away, (sort of like not letting the American people see dead bodies coming back from war), and the Obama administration appears more and more concerned with the politics of this disaster. Well the planet doesn't care about politics, or agencies, or masses of profits, or governments or blame games. The planet is spewing, you wanted the mother lode? You hit the mother lode. In all of my slick glory! Now where are all of you masters of the universe? I keep trying to tell you. Don't mess with Mother Nature. When will you listen?
Stephanie Mcnealy