Battered BP hit again as Gulf oil clean up costs reach $2bn

BP shares fell again today after the company revealed that the costs of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill are spiralling.

The company informed investors today that it has paid $2 billion (£1.34 billion) so far to cover compensation, containment, relief well drilling and government fees. Of that, more than $105 million has gone to 32,000 small businesses affected by the disaster.

The shares were again the biggest faller in the FTSE today, losing 16.35p to 341.1p.

That is above the low of 333.5p hit last week but shows that investors remain extremely concerned about whether BP can survive.

More than £56 billion has been removed from BP's stockmarket value since the explosion and the company has cancelled its dividend for the rest of the year. Last week it agreed to set up a $20 billion fund to compensate communities affected by the polluted environment.

More bad news comes from Anadarko Petroluem, its partner in the leaking well. Anadarko claims BP has been negligent and is refusing to pay its share of any compensation.

Jim Hackett, Anadarko's chief executive, said: "The mounting evidence clearly demonstrates this tragedy was preventable and the direct result of BP's reckless decisions and actions."

Mitsui, the Japanese group that owns 10% of the well, has made no decision on whether to admit liability for its share of cost.

BP, the majority owner, had operating responsibility for Deepwater Horizon, which suffered an explosion on April 20 that killed 11 workers and is still leaking millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

Crews are drilling two relief wells which are 5000 feet-plus below the sea floor. Work began last month and is expected to go on until August.

Estimates suggest 35,000 to 60,000 barrels a day are continuing to pour from the ruptured well. But an internal BP document released yesterday by a US congressman suggested the worst-case scenario could be about 100,000 barrels of oil a day if all equipment restricting the flow was removed and company models were wrong.

There is mounting speculation that BP's chief executive Tony Hayward will have to resign once the worst of the crisis is over.

David Buik of BCG Partners said: "He should go when the leak has been capped. The board of directors should make that decision, but I fear President Obama will."