Obama & BP near deal to continue drilling in Gulf of Mexico

(How about NO!?!? They have no disaster plan, they've lied at every single point in the 110+ days since it happened. Jesus Christ--Obama is an idiot if he lets these backward clusterfucks drill in the Gulf again. This is a fucking nightmare!--jef)

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BP was on Tuesday night close to safeguarding its future in the Gulf of Mexico as it neared a break-through deal aimed at smoothing relations with the Obama administration.

By James Quinn in New York and Jamie Dunkley
Published: 11 Aug 2010

The deal with the White House would allow BP to guarantee its $20bn (£13bn) clean-up fund against revenues from its operations in the Gulf, which account for approximately 10pc of its oil and gas business.
If the deal were to be agreed – it remains one of a number of solutions being discussed – it would all but guarantee BP’s future in the Gulf, despite efforts by certain members of the US Congress to force the company away from US shores.

The negotiations – led on BP’s behalf by incoming chief executive Bob Dudley – continued as BP’s attempt fully to seal the Macondo well were hampered by bad weather, delaying drilling of the relief well by two to three days.

The talks also came as it emerged that BP renewed its insurance policy to cover its directors just ahead of the explosion on the rig above the Macondo well on April 20.

Shares in BP continue to fluctuate despite the company’s efforts to move on from the spill. They closed down 8.02 at 424.73p in London.

Although the White House talks are far from complete, it appears that BP is likely to place some of the revenues from its Gulf operations as collateral for the $20bn compensation fund.

BP deposited the first $3bn on Monday, ahead of schedule, and has continuously said it will make further payments from ongoing operations. It is on track to sell $30bn of non-core assets, more than providing the necessary funds.

But it is understood that the US Department of Justice (DoJ) is keen for some form of collateral against the fund, in case BP is beset by financial problems in the future.

Although not ideal, the deal could have a silver lining for BP. It would effectively neuter a pending US House of Representatives bill aimed at preventing BP from operating in US waters by banning companies with poor safety records.

Meanwhile, it emerged that BP renewed its directors and officers’ liability insurance policy before the spill, effectively safeguarding executives from future legal claims.

BP is already the subject of more than 300 lawsuits, and, along with contractors Transocean and Halliburton, is the subject of an investigation by the DoJ into the events leading up to the accident.

The $400m insurance policy, details of which were first reported by The Insurance Insider, will protect the company in the event of liability claims against its senior managers. The insurance programme was brokered by Marsh, with insurers including Ace Bermuda International and Chartis on the hook should BP be successfully sued.