uranian
9th July 2010, 11:38 AM
THE British government is drawing up contingency plans for a possible collapse of BP (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1292665/Taxpayers-bail-BP-Gulf-crisis-sinks-oil-firm.html?ito=feeds-newsxml).
This is amid mounting fears that the oil giant could be broken up or taken over in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster.
The talks, which are being led by officials at the Department for Business and the Treasury, reflect growing concern within Whitehall about the implications that a corporate failure of BP, formerly Britain's biggest company, would have on British interests domestically and around the world.
BP, whose value has more than halved since the April 20 accident, has liabilities of up to $US70 billion ($84bn), according to estimates by Goldman Sachs.
The company employs 10,105 British staff directly and generated tax receipts of pound stg. 5.8bn ($10bn) in 2009.
It also owns much of Britain's most critical energy infrastructure, including the Forties Pipeline System that connects more than 50 oil and gas producing fields in the North Sea.
In addition, BP controls vital strategic assets overseas, including the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline that bypasses Russia and Iran to connect Europe with the rich oil and gas resources of Azerbaijan and the Caspian region. As well as the political ramifications stemming from a collapse of BP, the government is also concerned about the impact on millions of British pensioners for whom the company's dividends have served as an important plank of their retirement income.
Prime Minister David Cameron and Energy Secretary Chris Huhne are set to discuss BP's future with US officials during a trip to Washington on July 20.
Speaking in Toronto at the G20 on June 25, Mr Cameron warned that BP faced potential destruction unless US authorities stepped in to prevent its compensation costs escalating out of control.
The Department for Business declined to comment on the contingency plans, which are believed to still be under discussion and have encompassed a range of subjects from pension arrangements to the future of BP's international empire.
A person familiar with the talks said: "It is not clear how bad this will get, but the government needs to be prepared for any eventuality."
BP already faces crippling costs from the accident but if the leak cannot be plugged by drilling a relief well, there is a growing threat of a takeover, with ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell touted as the most likely candidates.
One insider claimed that one possibility mooted was whether, under extreme circumstances, the government should consider intervening to protect BP, which was a nationalised company until 1987.
Such an approach would raise the prospect of a bailout similar to the rescue of RBS and other stricken lenders during the 2008-09 credit crunch.
BP dismissed fears of a collapse. "We will recover from this, but there are undoubtedly going to be big changes in the way the company and the industry operate," a spokesman said.
News of the discussions surfaced as BP insisted that it had no plans to issue new shares, either to strategic investors or in the form of a conventional rights issue, despite the huge financial pressure caused by the spill.
However, the oil giant did say that it had been actively encouraging sovereign wealth funds and other potential investors in the Middle East to acquire shares at the present depressed price.
That interest was reflected on Monday when a senior Libyan official suggested that the government of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi would consider an investment in BP. Shokri Ghanem, chairman of Libya's national oil company, said: "BP is interesting now with the price lower by half and I still have trust in BP. I shall be recommending it."
This is amid mounting fears that the oil giant could be broken up or taken over in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster.
The talks, which are being led by officials at the Department for Business and the Treasury, reflect growing concern within Whitehall about the implications that a corporate failure of BP, formerly Britain's biggest company, would have on British interests domestically and around the world.
BP, whose value has more than halved since the April 20 accident, has liabilities of up to $US70 billion ($84bn), according to estimates by Goldman Sachs.
The company employs 10,105 British staff directly and generated tax receipts of pound stg. 5.8bn ($10bn) in 2009.
It also owns much of Britain's most critical energy infrastructure, including the Forties Pipeline System that connects more than 50 oil and gas producing fields in the North Sea.
In addition, BP controls vital strategic assets overseas, including the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline that bypasses Russia and Iran to connect Europe with the rich oil and gas resources of Azerbaijan and the Caspian region. As well as the political ramifications stemming from a collapse of BP, the government is also concerned about the impact on millions of British pensioners for whom the company's dividends have served as an important plank of their retirement income.
Prime Minister David Cameron and Energy Secretary Chris Huhne are set to discuss BP's future with US officials during a trip to Washington on July 20.
Speaking in Toronto at the G20 on June 25, Mr Cameron warned that BP faced potential destruction unless US authorities stepped in to prevent its compensation costs escalating out of control.
The Department for Business declined to comment on the contingency plans, which are believed to still be under discussion and have encompassed a range of subjects from pension arrangements to the future of BP's international empire.
A person familiar with the talks said: "It is not clear how bad this will get, but the government needs to be prepared for any eventuality."
BP already faces crippling costs from the accident but if the leak cannot be plugged by drilling a relief well, there is a growing threat of a takeover, with ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell touted as the most likely candidates.
One insider claimed that one possibility mooted was whether, under extreme circumstances, the government should consider intervening to protect BP, which was a nationalised company until 1987.
Such an approach would raise the prospect of a bailout similar to the rescue of RBS and other stricken lenders during the 2008-09 credit crunch.
BP dismissed fears of a collapse. "We will recover from this, but there are undoubtedly going to be big changes in the way the company and the industry operate," a spokesman said.
News of the discussions surfaced as BP insisted that it had no plans to issue new shares, either to strategic investors or in the form of a conventional rights issue, despite the huge financial pressure caused by the spill.
However, the oil giant did say that it had been actively encouraging sovereign wealth funds and other potential investors in the Middle East to acquire shares at the present depressed price.
That interest was reflected on Monday when a senior Libyan official suggested that the government of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi would consider an investment in BP. Shokri Ghanem, chairman of Libya's national oil company, said: "BP is interesting now with the price lower by half and I still have trust in BP. I shall be recommending it."