The strain of mounting costs from the Gulf oil spill has finally shattered the bonds between BP and its main partner in the leaking well.
The strain of mounting costs from the Gulf oil spill has finally
shattered the bonds between BP and its main partner in the leaking well.
Late last Friday Anadarko Corp., which holds a 25% stake in the leaking Macondo
well, accused BP of "gross negligence or willful misconduct" leading
up to the explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that triggered
the oil spill. Those words are chosen carefully--under the terms of the
operating agreement between the Macondo partners, which also includes Japan's
Mitsui, if BP was guilty of this charge it would be liable for 100% of the
costs.
Anadarko Chairman and Chief Executive Jim Hackett said his sudden outburst was
motivated by his dismay over what he has heard in public testimony about BP's
safety decision aboard the rig, rather than his desire to dodge the billions of
dollars in liability his company is facing. Although surely his mind was also
focused by Moody's decision to cut his company's debt rating to junk Friday.
Moody's decision may seem harsh. Anadarko has come in for nothing like the
public mauling that has so diminished confidence in BP. So far, it hasn't had
to pay anything towards the cost of the cleanup. But while BP takes the flak,
it is far better placed to survive the crisis.
For Anadarko, paying its quarter of the $2 billion BP has spent on the spill so
far, plus its $5 billion share into the $20 billion compensation fund BP agreed
last week, would be extremely painful, if not impossible.
The mid-sized oil explorer generated $3.9 billion in cash flow in 2009,
compared with BP's $27 billion. Anadarko was planning to spend this hard-earned
cash developing a string of recent big discoveries and exploring some very
promising new areas in
Africa
. Its
ability to retain these new assets would be questionable if all its cash were
being sucked away by the Gulf cleanup.
Hackett is only serving the best interests of his shareholders by trying to
pass this huge liability back to BP. Whether he succeeds will no doubt be
decided in a long, costly and acrimonious legal battle--BP said it strongly
disagrees with his view of events and intends all partners to pay their full
share of the oil spill costs.
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