Posted on 09/13/2010 12:21:04 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
BP's incoming chief executive, Bob Dudley, has reassured the City that the company will probably end up paying out less than the committed $20bn in compensation for those affected by the Gulf oil spill.
The White House ordered the company to pay $20bn into a compensation fund over three and a half years, making it clear that further payments may be required.
Although BP still does not know how much it will have to contribute, Dudley's comments that the $20bn already pledged should cover these claims reflect BP's growing confidence that it can emerge from April's Deepwater Horizon disaster in a relatively strong position.
It is understood the company also informed City analysts at a meeting in London on Friday that a facility allowing any unpaid amounts from the fund to be paid back to BP has now been set up.
Analysts even believe BP will soon be able to resume paying dividends, with Citigroup predicting it could do so as early as February, when it reports its full-year results.
Dudley, who formally takes over from Tony Hayward on 1 October, stressed that the decision to suspend the dividend in June was for liquidity reasons, to conserve cash to pay for the spill costs.
Since then, BP has raised about $10bn from asset sales and its costs from the clean-up operation are tailing off because oil has stopped flowing from the stricken well. Because the size of the spill has stopped growing and has been measured, the extent of BP's potential liabilities have also become clearer.
Dudley also told analysts the estimate BP made in July of $32.2bn for its total liabilities from the spill – officially the biggest in US history – remained reasonable. This assumes BP is not found to have been grossly negligent,
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
You won’t see that money again until Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign.
SUCKER!
You just handed Obama, the DNC, and ACORN $15 Billion (Minus the $5 billion of actual clean up costs).
And just like the foreign money to Obama in 2008, the corrupt MSM will turn a blind eye.
RE: You just handed Obama, the DNC, and ACORN $15 Billion (Minus the $5 billion of actual clean up costs).
What choice did BP have under the circumstances ?
To go to court if needed and pay each claim separately...
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