BP, Weatherford In Settlement on Deepwater Horizon

- BP, Weatherford In Settlement on Deepwater Horizon

Monday, June 20, 2011
Dow Jones Newswires
by Drew FitzGerald

BP on Monday reached a settlement with Weatherford's U.S. subsidiary that indemnifies the oil-services company from future Deepwater Horizon-related disaster claims.

Under the deal, Weatherford agreed to pay BP $75 million to spend on its Gulf Coast recovery fund. The entire cost of the settlement is being funded by insurance policies Weatherford had in place when the disaster happened.

The deal ties up another end in a web of litigation for companies that worked on the drilling rig, which exploded last year and caused one of the largest oil spills in U.S. history. Weatherford provided BP with products and services for the Macondo oil well, along with rig-owner Transocean and contractor Halliburton.

Under the latest agreement, BP indemnified Weatherford from all current and future environmental, pollution, personal, business, property and economic loss claims arising from the accident.

Separately, Transocean said Friday that insurers of its sunken rig have asked a federal judge to decide if BP and other owners of the doomed Macondo well are entitled to any coverage for the accident.

Copyright (c) 2011 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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BP Gains 2.1% After Settlement Payment From MOEX

- BP Gains 2.1% After Settlement Payment From MOEX



May 20, 2011

BP (NYSE:BP) is higher after the oil major reached a settlement with MOEX Offshore 2007 LLC -- which had a 10% stake in the Macondo oil well -- over claims related to the Deepwater Horizon accident.

BP said MOEX will pay $1.065 billion, which BP will immediately apply to the $20 billion trust it established in the wake of the disaster.

BP said MOEX "has joined BP in recognizing and acknowledging the findings by the Presidential Commission that the accident was the result of a number of separate risk factors, oversights and outright mistakes by multiple parties."

In return for the payment, BP will indemnify MOEX for compensatory claims arising from the accident. MOEX is majority owned by Japan's Mitsui & Co. BP said the agreement is not an admission of liability by any party.

BP shares are up 2.1%, or $0.93, to $44.81.

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BP, MOEX Agree to $1.1B Settlement for Macondo Spill

- BP, MOEX Agree to $1.1B Settlement for Macondo Spill

Friday, May 20, 2011
BP plc

BP has reached agreement with MOEX and its affiliates, Mitsui Oil Exploration and MOEX USA, to settle all claims between the companies related to the Deepwater Horizon accident.

MOEX - which had a ten percent interest in the Macondo well - has joined BP in recognizing and acknowledging the findings by the Presidential Commission that the accident was the result of a number of separate risk factors, oversights and outright mistakes by multiple parties and a number of causes. Like BP, MOEX Offshore has also recognized and acknowledged the conclusions of the United States Coast Guard that, among other things, the safety management systems of both Transocean and its Deepwater Horizon rig had significant deficiencies that rendered them ineffective in preventing the accident. MOEX has concluded that entering into a settlement with BP is in its best interest. The agreement is not an admission of liability by any party regarding the accident.

Under the settlement agreement, MOEX USA Corporation, the parent company of MOEX Offshore 2007, will pay BP $ 1.065 billion. BP will immediately apply the payment to the $20 billion trust it established to meet individual, business and government claims, as well as the cost of the Natural Resource Damages.

The parties have also agreed to mutual releases of claims against each other. BP has agreed to indemnify MOEX for compensatory claims arising from the accident. BP's indemnity excludes civil, criminal or administrative fines and penalties, claims for punitive damages, and certain other claims.

"This settlement is an important step forward for BP and the Gulf communities," said BP group chief executive Bob Dudley. "MOEX is the first company to join BP in helping to meet our shared responsibilities in the Gulf, and Mitsui, through MOEX USA Corporation, is showing great corporate citizenship in standing behind its affiliate and making a contribution to meet the costs of this tragic accident. We call on the other parties involved in the Macondo well to follow the lead of the MOEX and Mitsui parties."

BP and the Mitsui group are committed to enhancing their business relationship globally now that the issues surrounding the Macondo well have been resolved between the two companies.

Today's settlement is the most recent step BP has taken to raise funds to help BP meet its commitments in the Gulf of Mexico. BP has so far concluded agreements for asset divestments totaling approximately $25 billion, and has recently announced that it will also divest a number of operated oil and gas fields in the UK and two of its US refineries - Texas City and Carson - along with their associated marketing interests.

BP is also working to ensure that the other parties involved in the Macondo well - notably, Transocean, which owned and operated the Deepwater Horizon rig; Halliburton, which designed and pumped the unstable cement that the Presidential Commission found was a key cause of the accident; and Anadarko, which owned 25 percent of the project - contribute appropriately. From the outset, BP has committed to paying all legitimate claims and fulfilling its obligations to the Gulf communities under the Oil Pollution Act. To date, BP has paid nearly $6 billion in claims.

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[Oil and Gas Post] - Oil Slips From Two-Week High on Speculation Mideast Risk Limited to Libya

Oil Slips From Two-Week High on Speculation Mideast Risk Limited to Libya

By Grant Smith and Ann Koh - Mar 22, 2011 4:22 PM GMT+0700

Crude oil retreated from its highest price in almost two weeks amid speculation that supply disruptions from political unrest in North African and the Middle East may be confined to Libya.
Futures slipped after climbing as much as 0.3 percent as demonstrators in Yemen spent the night on streets to maintain pressure on President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who is facing a growing internal revolt. Tension in the region is adding a risk premium of $15 to $20 a barrel to Brent oil prices, according to Societe Generale SA.

“The unrest in Libya seems to be priced in almost completely by now,” Eugen Weinberg, head of commodities research at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt, said in an interview with Bloomberg television. “The price will stay at elevated levels of around $110 to $120 for several months and will drop back to $90 by the year-end.”

Crude for April delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange was at $102.05 a barrel, down 28 cents, at 9:15 a.m. London time, after rising as high as $102.67. Yesterday, it gained $1.26 to $102.33, the highest settlement since March 10. The April contract expires today. The more-actively traded May futures were down 22 cents at $102.87 a barrel. Brent oil for May settlement was at $114.65, down 31 cents, on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London after rising as much as 0.5 percent. The spread between the two May contracts narrowed to $11.80 a barrel from $11.87 yesterday.

Regional Unrest

Regional turmoil has toppled the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt and reached Yemen, Bahrain and Syria. Societe Generale raised its forecast for Brent by $11 to average $109 a barrel this year as political risks increased, analysts led by Michael Wittner said in a report dated yesterday.

Allied forces are expanding their air campaign over Libya in an effort to thwart Muammar Qaddafi’s fighters and enable rebels to control cities, such as the opposition capital of Benghazi, which had been under attack by troops loyal to the regime. The Libyan leader denounced the coalition allied against him, which includes the U.S., the U.K. and France, as “the party of Satan.”

Libyan output has fallen to fewer than 400,000 barrels a day, Shokri Ghanem, chairman of Libya’s National Oil Co., said on March 19. The country produced 1.59 million barrels a day in January, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Exports may be halted for “many months” because of sanctions and damage to facilities, the International Energy Agency said.

Libyan oil production is likely to remain disrupted for the rest of this year, said Lawrence Eagles, head of commodities research at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York.

Protest in Yemen

Thousands of Yemenis spent the night on streets across the country to maintain pressure on President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who is facing a growing internal revolt by army leaders, ministers and diplomats. Yemen produced about 298,000 barrels of oil daily in 2009, according to BP Plc data.

Military officers including Ali Muhsin al-Ahmar, commander of the first armored division, and Mohammed Ali Muhssein, commander of the eastern region, abandoned the regime yesterday. Their move was a result of the crackdown three days ago that left dozens dead, said Mohammed al-Sabri, an opposition leader.

Bahrain’s government declared a three-month state of emergency on March 15 after troops from Saudi Arabia and other Arab Gulf states arrived to help in quelling more than a month of protests.

Japan is delivering more relief supplies in areas hardest hit by the March 11 earthquake as workers restored power to two reactors at a crippled Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant yesterday, prompting Prime Minister Naoto Kan to say there was “light at the end of the tunnel.”

Short-Term Drop

“The recent tragic events in Japan will result in a sharp short-term drop in economic activity but is likely to be followed by a strong recovery driven by reconstruction and replacement of durables which would boost the demand for many commodities,” Societe Generale’s analysts said.

Japan was responsible for 5.2 percent of global oil demand in 2009, according to BP, which publishes its Statistical Review of World Energy each June. Japan is the third-biggest crude- consuming country, after the U.S. and China.

To contact the reporters on this story: Ann Koh in Singapore at akoh15@bloomberg.net; Grant Smith in London at gsmith52@bloomberg.net

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