SINGAPORE May 03-US President Barack Obama said on Monday that UK s BP will shoulder the full cost of cleaning up the massive oil spill that was threatening to reach US shores, even as the government is helping out in the effort to mitigate a potentially unprecedented environmental disaster .
Let me be clear: BP is responsible for this leak; BP will be paying the bill, said Obama in a speech in Venice, Louisiana.
Obama flew to the Gulf state to inspect the damage being wrought on the ecosystem by the oil spill caused when BP's oil rig Deepwater Horizon exploded and sank on 20 April, 50 miles of off the coast of Louisiana and killing 11 people.
The UK oil and gas major may have to spend up to $2-3bn (?.5-2.25bn) to fully clean up the oil spill once the leak reaches land, potentially more the longer it takes to arrest the flow of oil into the Gulf, said Jeffrey Woodruff, energy team senior director at credit ratings firm Fitch.
The oil that is still leaking from the well could seriously damage the economy and the environment of our Gulf states and it could extend for a long time, Obama said, adding that the spill was about about nine miles off the coast of southeastern Louisiana early Monday (Singapore time).
And while there will be time to fully investigate what happened on that rig and hold responsible parties accountable, our focus now is on a fully coordinated, relentless response effort to stop the leak and prevent more damage to the Gulf, Obama said.
BP said last Friday that it had deployed over 2,500 people for a major protection and cleaning up effort on the shorelines of Gulf states Louisiana, Mississipi, Alabama and Florida.
Currently, the most advanced technology available is being used to try and stop a leak that is more than 5,000 feet under the surface, Obama said.
The US government had approved BP s proposed use of chemical dispersants to prevent the oil spill from rising up to the sea surface.
Let me be clear: BP is responsible for this leak; BP will be paying the bill, said Obama in a speech in Venice, Louisiana.
Obama flew to the Gulf state to inspect the damage being wrought on the ecosystem by the oil spill caused when BP's oil rig Deepwater Horizon exploded and sank on 20 April, 50 miles of off the coast of Louisiana and killing 11 people.
The UK oil and gas major may have to spend up to $2-3bn (?.5-2.25bn) to fully clean up the oil spill once the leak reaches land, potentially more the longer it takes to arrest the flow of oil into the Gulf, said Jeffrey Woodruff, energy team senior director at credit ratings firm Fitch.
The oil that is still leaking from the well could seriously damage the economy and the environment of our Gulf states and it could extend for a long time, Obama said, adding that the spill was about about nine miles off the coast of southeastern Louisiana early Monday (Singapore time).
And while there will be time to fully investigate what happened on that rig and hold responsible parties accountable, our focus now is on a fully coordinated, relentless response effort to stop the leak and prevent more damage to the Gulf, Obama said.
BP said last Friday that it had deployed over 2,500 people for a major protection and cleaning up effort on the shorelines of Gulf states Louisiana, Mississipi, Alabama and Florida.
Currently, the most advanced technology available is being used to try and stop a leak that is more than 5,000 feet under the surface, Obama said.
The US government had approved BP s proposed use of chemical dispersants to prevent the oil spill from rising up to the sea surface.
