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BP 'strong despite spill setback' |
BP remains a "strong company" despite the "setback" it has suffered as a result of the oil spill in the US Gulf of Mexico, its chairman says.
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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
, 18-June-2010
20:6:7 PM |
In an interview with Sky News, Carl-Henric Svanberg dismissed comments by Russia's president that the oil giant may face "annihilation".
Mr Svanberg also confirmed that BP chief executive Tony Hayward would be handing over the day-to-day response to BP managing director Bob Dudley.
The BP oil rig exploded on 20 April.
Eleven people died in the Deepwater Horizon drill rig accident, which left a ruptured well spewing hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
Despite BP efforts to contain the leak, oil continues to enter the sea, threatening states along the Gulf coast.
It has been described as the worst ecological disaster in the US.
A containment cap and another device are capturing some 25,000 barrels of oil a day - the latest estimates suggest 35,000-60,000 barrels a day are spewing out.
President Barack Obama has vowed to make BP pay for the damage.
The company has agreed to put aside $20bn (£13.5bn) to compensate victims of the oil spill - and has vowed to help with the clean-up.
On Friday, rating agency Moody's downgraded BP's credit rating by three notches, following similar moves by the other two rating agencies earlier this week.
It said the full costs of the oil spill would have a negative impact on the company's cash flow for "a number of years".
Complaicency charges
On Thursday, Tony Hayward faced an angry US Congressional panel which told him BP had ignored dangers when drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.
House committee on energy and commerce chairman Henry Waxman said BP's "complacency" before the rig explosion had been "astonishing".
He accused Mr Hayward of "stonewalling" for failing to answer his questions.
But Mr Svanberg defended the chief executive, saying the answers would have to wait until a BP inquiry into what happened was completed.
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