BP dissapointed private investors as the share price slid even though a
Massive 136 percent jump in profits were recorded for the last quarter.
This was already expected and comments from Lord Browne saying falls in oil expected have brought also helped the stock down.
He says can stand oil price even below $16 pb
The hostage situation in Nigeria getting bad maybe BP putting on some weight today?
Locals want enviroment cleaned up and profits shared.
Any chance?

Oil Rig Workers To Criticize Transocean In US House Hearing
By Brent Kendall
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)

Two Transocean Ltd. (RIG) workers who were aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig when it exploded are preparing to tell a U.S. House of Representatives committee there were safety issues with the rig before the disaster.

In prepared written testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, Douglas Harold Brown, the chief mechanic and acting second engineer on the rig, said there was a "progressive problem" on the rig with downsizing the number of crew members assigned to the engine room.

"Because of the cuts in the number of engine room personnel, we were often days, weeks and even months behind in completing the necessary preventative maintenance requirements," Brown said.

Brown described the scene on the rig in the wake of the explosion: "People were crying and screaming that they did not want to die; there was confusion and panic everywhere."

Brown, who suffered leg injuries, was treated at a local hospital and then taken to a hotel where, he said, "I was then immediately taken to a room and interrogated by two lawyers from Transocean in front of a court reporter."

Stephen Stone, a general laborer on the rig, said in written testimony that the blowout of the well "was hardly the first thing to go wrong."

Stone said the rig employees had to pump down a heavy-duty sealant compound four times in 20 days to seal cracks in the underground formation.

Stone said after the blast a Transocean representative asked him to sign a document saying he was not injured in order to obtain $5,000 for the loss of his personal possessions.

"I never would have expected for my company to treat me like a criminal after I had survived such a disaster by making me submit to a drug test, and they try to tempt or trick me into giving up my legal rights by signing forms without a lawyer present," he said.

Thursday's hearing, which will examine legal liability issues surrounding the disaster, will feature 11 witnesses, including representatives from BP PLC (BP, BP.LN), Transocean, Halliburton Co. (HAL) and Cameron International Corp. (CAM).

UPDATE:Interior Secretary: MMS Chief Resigned 'Of Her Own Volition'
(Updates to add quote from Rep. Moran, more background on Birnbaum)

By Siobhan Hughes
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)

Minerals Management Service Director Liz Birnbaum has resigned as a vast Gulf of Mexico oil spill puts growing scrutiny on the agency's oversight of offshore drilling.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Thursday that Birnbaum had resigned. He made the disclosure at a House Appropriations Committee hearing on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. He said she resigned "of her own volition."

Birnbaum had headed the Interior Department's MMS since July. Her role at the agency has been uncertain since the Interior Secretary announced that he would break up the MMS into three parts, an arrangement that would eliminate her position.

Birnbaum's departure was abrupt. She had been scheduled to appear alongside Salazar at a House Appropriations Committee hearing Thursday. Committee staff had circulated her biography. And the House Energy and Commerce Committee had expected Birnbaum to testify later Thursday.

The departure comes as the agency takes fire for leaving safety oversight up to the industry it oversees. An inspector general report released earlier this week found that employees in the Lake Charles, Louisiana, office fraternized with oil-company workers, accepting sporting event tickets, lunches, and other gifts from oil and natural gas companies.

"I don't for a moment personally blame Birnbaum because she's not a part of that culture," said Rep. Jim Moran (D., Va.), who oversees a House subcommittee that funds the Interior Department. "I trust that no one--particularly people who are not responsible--are going to be scapegoated."

UPDATE: BP Top Kill Process May Last 2 More Days - CEO
LONDON (Dow Jones)

BP PLC (BP) may continue for two more days its 'top kill' process to seal a leaky well in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, but complete success isn't guaranteed, Chief Executive Tony Hayward said in an email to staff Friday.

The company temporarily stopped the flow of hydrocarbons while it was pumping drilling mud at high pressure earlier this week, but pressure from the well pushed back out into the ocean a combination of oil, gas and drilling fluid when the pumping stopped.

Nobody was available for comment at BP.

In his email, Hayward said that during the course of its initial 'top kill' operations, BP showed it could "successfully pump heavy drilling fluids [mud] into the well.

"These operations continue and...the procedure could extend for a further 24 to 48 hours," he said. "Its ultimate success is uncertain."

Hayward said BP continues to plan for alternatives if this "option doesn't work out" and "preparations are underway for the possible deployment of the lower marine riser package containment system.

"I hope to be able to let you know the outcome of these operations in the next day or two," he said.

Hole now capped according to Bloomberg jew times. Waiting to see if it holds.

You might want to edit that Clubman before you get a serious objection.

Do you not agree with the news

You want to be cute, fair enough, but what have the origins of the founders got to do with BP news?
In answer to your question, Reuters has only "BP reported some progress on Friday in its struggle to shut off its gushing deepwater Gulf of Mexico oil well". Not yet seen a Bloomberg update.

Bloomberg reported online radio well capped, but you know what they are like for lying I will wait until I read it in the Sun newspaper, about as reliable

we now know that this latest attempt has failed too .... that being so, sp must assuredly have much more downside in store

almost as an aside, though it really lives on a more generalised thread, now that US is banning deep-sea exploration and drilling in all probability for the next several years, surely those companies who now have significant proven reserves will become even more important targets for predators.

UPDATE ON GULF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL

BP PLC
01 June 2010

press release

June 1, 2010

UPDATE ON GULF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL RESPONSE

BP today provided an update on developments in the response to the MC252 oil
well incident in the Gulf of Mexico. This follows an announcement on May 29 to
move to the next step in the subsea operations.

Subsea Source Control and Containment

Preparations are ongoing for deployment of the lower marine riser package (LMRP)
cap containment system. Remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) are engaged in
preliminary operations, including preparing for operations to cut through and
separate the damaged riser from the LMRP at the top of the Deepwater Horizon's
failed blow-out preventer (BOP).

Deployment of the system will involve connecting the containment cap to a riser
from the Discoverer Enterprise drillship and then placing it over the LMRP, with
the intention of capturing most of the oil and gas flowing from the well and
transporting it to the drillship on the surface.

All of these operations, including the cutting of the riser, are complex,
involve risks and uncertainties, and have to be carried out by ROVs at 5,000
feet under water. Systems such as the LMRP containment cap have never before
been deployed at these depths and conditions, and their efficiency and ability
to contain the oil and gas cannot be assured. It is currently anticipated that
attachment of the LMRP cap will be attempted later this week; however,
operational delays could impact anticipated timeframes.

Preparations to use the Discoverer Enterprise to deploy the LMRP cap and the
intended severing of the damaged riser mean that the riser insertion tube tool,
previously deployed, will not be reinserted into the main leak at the end of the
riser.

Work on the first relief well, which started on May 2, continues and it has
currently reached a depth of 12,090 feet. Work on the second relief well, which
started on May 16, had reached a depth of 8,576 feet before drilling was
temporarily suspended on May 26. Drilling operations on the second relief well
resumed on May 30. Both wells are still estimated to take around three months to
complete from commencement of drilling.

Surface Spill Response and Containment

Work continues to collect and disperse oil that has reached the surface of the
sea, to protect the shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico, and to collect and clean up
any oil that has reached shore.

Over 1,600 vessels are now involved in the response effort, including
skimmers, tugs, barges and recovery vessels. Operations to skim oil from the
surface of the water have now recovered, in total, some 321,000 barrels (13.5
million gallons) of oily liquid.

The total length of containment boom deployed as part of efforts to prevent
oil reaching the coast is now over 1.9 million feet, and an additional 1.8
million feet of sorbent boom has also been deployed.

So far approximately 30,000 claims have been submitted and more than 15,000
payments already have been made, totalling some $40 million. BP has received
more than 110,000 calls into its help lines to date.

Additional information

The cost of the response to date amounts to about $990 million, including the
cost of the spill response, containment, relief well drilling, grants to the
Gulf states, claims paid and federal costs. It is too early to quantify other
potential costs and liabilities associated with the incident.
--

BP SETS OUT ENHANCEMENTS TO LMRP CONTAINMENT STRATEGY TO KEEP OIL OUT OF GULF

BP announced today that, after extensive consultation with National Incident
Commander Admiral Thad Allen and other members of the Federal government, it
plans to further enhance the lower marine riser package ("LMRP") containment
system currently scheduled to be deployed this week with further measures that
are expected to keep additional oil out of the Gulf of Mexico.

The additional steps announced today will follow placement of the LMRP
containment cap, which is expected this week. Preparations for these additional
planned enhancements are already underway.

The first planned addition is intended to use the hoses and manifold that were
deployed for the 'top kill' operation to take oil and gas from the failed
Deepwater Horizon blow-out preventer (BOP) through a separate riser to an
intervention vessel on the surface, in addition to the LMRP cap system. This
system, which currently is expected to be available for deployment in mid-June,
is intended to increase the overall efficiency of the containment operation by
possibly increasing the amount of oil and gas flow that can be captured from the
well.

It is anticipated that the next planned operation will provide a more permanent
system by directing oil and gas to a new free-standing riser ending
approximately 300 feet below sea level. A flexible hose then will be attached
to a containment vessel. This long-term option is designed to permit the system
to more effectively disconnect and reconnect the riser to provide the greatest
flexibility for operations during a hurricane. Implementation of this
enhancement is expected in late June or early July.

"BP's priority is to keep as much oil as we can from causing additional harm to
the Gulf, the shoreline and the people of the region," said BP Chief Executive
Tony Hayward. "This planned multi-step containment strategy is our best option
for achieving this as we work hard towards completing the relief wells that will
kill this well completely. Our teams have been working closely with the Federal
government, and I have discussed this plan personally with Admiral Allen. I
hope we will see progress with these containment procedures in the coming days."


The strategy and specific containment plans have been extensively reviewed by
BP's scientific and engineering team together with a team of government
scientists assembled by Secretaries Ken Salazar and Stephen Chu, including
leading researchers from the Department of Energy's National Labs and Dr. Marsha
McNutt, Director of the U.S. Geological Survey.

The planned containment strategy is described in further detail in a video
briefing, available at www.bp.com/gulfofmexicoresponse in the 'Response in
Video' section entitled "Kent Wells technical briefing - 31 May 2010."

---

down 70p in 10 minutes .....gulp .....400p looking a distinct possibility by 8-30 ......

Wish I took out a short here....

The Gulf of Mexico oil spill is now turning into a catastrophe

The failure of BP's 'top kill' means there is no end in sight to the misery of Louisiana's people and wildlife, writes Geoffrey Lean.

In my dreams hey !!! They aint started showing the dead sea-life and birds yet either, be below 3 before it caps the well. And talk of seizing all BP. assets in the U.S wont do much for the share price either. Personally I think its a disgrace - if you aint got the technology to be able avoid a catastrophe like this, you shouldn't be drilling in the first place. Guess we better get ready for a fuel price hike now, so they can claw a few quid back.

sorry, but your final comment is a load of tosh ..... firstly, it is very questionable whether this catastrophe could have been foreseen, though there are unsubstantiated rumours that all was not quite well a few hours before disaster struck

more to the point, it is totally and utterly impossible to work out beforehand, even with CAD how to resolve a disaster such as this ..... as far as everyone knew, the failsafe systems were in place and, as far as possible, proven to be effective ..... however, it seems that a massive methane bubble was struck and came straight up through the apparatus, with such pressure that it could not be withstood

cynic will the gas pressure eventually ease and make it easier to plug the well?

i really have no idea, for though we deal with the off-shore industry, assuredly not in this sort of esoteric and highly specialised field .....

for sure methane is a very light and volatile gas (you know what it's like!), but i don't think that's the problem .... as far as my very amateur eye can tell, though the methane bubble caused the initial blowout, the oil now escaping is doing so under its own pressure, just like the good old-fashioned gushers on land that one used to read or hear about ..... that it's all happening a mile under the sea exacerbates the problem, not least because of the truly huge pressures being exerted

BP market value ('09/'10) : $177,609,000,000 - Turnover: $247,787,000,000 - Net income $17,168,000,000. I agree that it is going to knock them back as the sp is currently being hit badly & still plenty of problems to come. Even if the spill costs them $1bn it is not going to make them go bust. Suspect divi may be cut though.

BP Oil Spill Threatens Wider Coastline as Storm Season Starts

June 1 (Bloomberg) -- Oil from the biggest spill in U.S. history could spread this week to threaten the coasts of Mississippi and Alabama, according a weather forecast that comes as the Atlantic hurricane season officially starts.

Winds from the southwest are predicted this week, pushing the oil from BP Plcs broken well in the Gulf of Mexico to a wider area of the U.S. coast, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a statement on its Website.

Results indicate that oil may move north to threaten the barrier islands off Mississippi and Alabama later in the forecast period, the agency known as NOAA said.