BP to siphon off more oil from well
June 15, 2010 |11:29 | Oil By : Team X
Energy giant BP PLC unveiled a plan yesterday to vastly boost the amount of oil it is siphoning off from its blown-out Gulf of Mexico well. With the spill certain to continue for weeks, BP's U.S.-listed shares tumbled as investors feared the British company may give way to U.S. political pressure to suspend its quarterly dividend. In New York trading yesterday, BP fell $3.30 to $30.67.
BP is planning new measures to draw off more oil and to replace the containment cap which has not stopped thousands of barrels of oil from escaping daily from the well into the Gulf. It is digging relief wells to permanently block the flow in August.
BP plans to send more vessels to the spill site to increase its capacity to capture oil from the well from around 15,000 barrels a day now to 40,000 to 53,000 barrels by the end of this month and 60,000 to 80,000 by mid-July.
BP has faced a barrage of criticism from Gulf Coast residents and the U.S. administration over its handling of the cleanup, and last week was confronted with a White House threat to widen its liabilities for the disaster.
"The concern is that BP is going to cut its dividend, and that's weighing on the stock. I don't know how big the cut will be, but BP wants to keep the government happy," said Andy Fitzpatrick, director of investments at Hinsdale Associates, in Hinsdale, Ill.
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