BP Oil Spillage

[florida4sun]

Would be interesting to see if an American company takes over BP....

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by grayster
BP's assets will not go bust (they have incredible value in their oil reserves). If the company fails (most likely because no US person will go near the name or because they suffer a short term liquidity pinch in the derivatives markets), another one will buy them up plus their Gulf spill liabilities. A falling market capitalisation does not make a company go bust - if it's balance sheet is still intact, it makes it a bid target. Even with the Gulf liabilities, BP is a very attractive company to takeover. End result = same assets, different name. However, securing compensation for claimees would probably take much, much longer - this is why Obama is trying to get the $20bn escrow account set up. It is a US insurance policy in case BP fails.

However, Obama's hammering of BP serves no purpose except to divert attention from his administration. It's not working - polls are showing the population are not happy with how he has dealt with this.
[/quote]

[grayster]

Yes, I hadn't thought of that angle. But I wonder how Obama may feel if it is a Chinese company like CNOOC.

[Andrena]

If I thought that there might be a takeover of BP then it may be worth taking a punt at their shares, they are pretty cheap and maybe there is a way of making a bit on a takeover.

Andrena

[karenk]

BP is largely an American company. It was merged with Amoco some years ago and ceased at that point to be known as British Petroleum. It's corporate world centre is in Huston, Texas I believe, trading out of the former address of Amoco. BP employs 26,000 people in the USA, far more than in Britain and shares are held in joint liability 40% in British pension funds and 39% in US funds. Not a good day for anyone I'm afraid if president Obama has his way. He has been ill advised in latching onto what he thinks BP stands for and has as you've all commented, referred to BP as a British company. Not so and also, not wholely liable for the mess in the gulf.

Taking nothing away from the loss of life, livelyhood and ecologigical disater that this spillage is, president Obama's culture of blame is speculative at best and the facts need to be presented as they are to determine liability. Doubt if the American people even realise that this is not a British company any more, but that we have as much interest in it as anywhere else in the globe where BP trades.

[Robert5988]

However 40% of shares in BP has a considerably greater effect on the UK economy than it does on the much larger USA economy.

I thought the Senate committee's grilling of the BP boss would have made Senator Joseph McCarthy proud!!! More like a show trial than any attempt to investigate.

[Pookie]

And Obama's administration has recently given permission for drilling off the coast of Alaska.

Lynne

[karenk]

The US need for oil outweighs their need for justice unfortunately. In one day they use as much crude as the next top ten oil using countries put together. The show trial, Obama's disregard for ownership of BP, the slush fund that's been set up to compensate business owners along the gulf coast towns without qualification all smacks of the normal disorganised, knee jerk approach that the USA traditionally adopts in their 'it wasn't my fault blame it on the other guy' culture. Let's hope someone puts politics aside and makes sure that an ecological tragedy of this scale doesn't happen again.

The last time the USA were involved in something on this scale it was the explosion at Bhopal which was entirely credited to Indian mismanagement although US equipment, personel and methodology for both operation and health and safety were being used at the plant at the time and the Indian staff were being 'trained' by US staff so were not operating in a management capacity. No one from the US took any responsibility for the loss of life at that plant, can't see them doing any different this time around, they never learn from their mistakes and why should they, no one ever holds them to account.

[grayster]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by karenk
The US need for oil outweighs their need for justice unfortunately. [/quote]

Or protection of the environment...
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4ddfd380-7...44feabdc0.html

[lewisp]

I am out here in Florida at the moment and read an interesting piece in the mail on sunday (a few sundays old) paper about what DLB has just noted. The main gist being that the US media has been adept in keeping the detail of the oil rig owners and other US owned contractors involved in this disaster, well out of the public eye and BP has taken the all the credit for the disaster. I think theres a lot more to this story and detail will no doubt come out in time. It does explain a lot though. What is also sad (along with the obvious loss of life and the impact this has had on the environment) is the fact that US Gas Station owners have felt the need to send out pleas to everyone (on the radio) to support their businesses and carry on buying their gas from BP stations. The fallout is having a major impact on small business owners and staff who are losing their livelihoods because of it. Gill

[DLB-GOUROCK]

Picking up on a point by Martin. It already is, in a manner of speaking.

BP is a global public limited company owned by shareholders not a Government.
The largest BP shareholder: the U.S. investment firm JPMorgan Chase and is the No. 1 holder of stock in BP. That distinction also has earned the Wall Street bank the title of “Global Ultimate Owner” of the oil giant, as it owns 28.34% of BP.

How can you put blame on a Nation or a Government for a public company owned by shareholders that operates in a global environment.

Those of us who are worried that holding back dividends and falling share values will affect our pension fund should be sympathetic to our American friends with an investment in JPMorgan.

I MUST stress that my initial stance is get the thing fixed and the clean-up done. Then look at the operation of the rig and apportion who has to compensate who.