BP: Beautiful Prey? Barely!

Today, BP makes a new attempt to stop the oil spill that has been polluting the coast of the Gulf of Mexico for the past three months. The company is fighting for survival, according to this morning’s La Tribune headline. The British group could pay dearly for this affair; could it even lose its independence?

Yes, BP means British Petroleum. It will perhaps come to mean Beautiful Prey. The British oil giant has indeed lost its luster — and its value. It might be of some interest, in fact, to some of its competitors …

First, the balance sheet. It is catastrophic. The oil continues to flow. In three months, ten times more oil has escaped from the deep water well than in a previous similar accident, the Exxon Valdez, in ’89, off the coast of Alaska. Ten times more. And it continues to flow. Therefore, it is pointless to claim that it is an ecological disaster, as well as a financial disaster for the fishermen and for tourism. It will take years to clean the polluted coast. It has also brought the exploitation of ocean oil wells to a screeching halt. The U.S. government has imposed a moratorium on this type of activity until November 30.

The tab will be paid by BP …

And in this case, the U.S. government has really taken charge. BP, it is Business Privé. Nevertheless, today, the group is under the supervision of the U.S government. The U.S. government is closely monitoring the patching operations. It has forced BP to immediately create a $20 billion compensation fund. It will be necessary to compensate all the victims of this catastrophe. BP will have to sell assets — which will be done under the control of the U.S government. And then, this week, we learned that the U.S. government, more specifically the White House, might have given Exxon the green light to engage in a possible bid for BP!

BP: Beautiful Prey?

Still not for sure! The British giant has certainly lost in the stock market — one-third of its value since the beginning of the disaster. It may attract competitors. There is talk about the American Exxon, the Anglo-Dutch Shell and even the Chinese Petrochina.

BP is also Beaucoup de Problemes. This disaster will be costly for BP — between $30 and 70 billion. It will have to compensate all the victims of the disaster. It will go through years of trials. Those potential compensations, unspecified but massive, are the real poison pill that protects the British giant today. The giant whose wings are at present weighed down with tar, and whose flight is undeniably slowed down, has lost none of its power. Far from it.