BP is trying to raise $US 50 billion to cover the cost of the Gulf of Mexico spill and is preparing to sue its partners in the oil field, British newspapers said overnight. The Sunday Telegraph said BP was readying to take legal action against US firm Anadarko, its main partner in the field, for its share of the clean-up costs. The broadsheet cited a "senior BP source" as saying Anadarko was "shirking its responsibilities", not accepting its liabilities and that legal action in the US was now likely to follow. The Sunday Times said BP was working on a plan to raise $US50 billion to cover the cost of the oil spill, which would start next week with a bond sale to raise $US10 billion. A further $US20 billion would come from bank loans, while the final slice is expected to come from asset sales over the next two years, the broadsheet said.
The push is to make sure they have enough money to deal with claims and to bolster market confidence in its finances, said the weekly. Meanwhile, The Observer newspaper said BP might sell its remaining North Sea interests, plus stakes in dozens of exploration and production projects where it does not exercise overall control, in a bid to reduce its costs. The weekly, citing "well-placed City sources", said such measures would cut costs by $US14 billion within six months. BP will also study the possibility of selling its 1.4 per cent stake in Rosneft, which it bought at the time of the Russian firm's 2006 flotation for $US1 billion, the report said.
