Tuesday, May 18, 2010

BP (NYSE:BP) CEO: Environmental Impact Should be Modest

In an interview with Sky News, BP (NYSE:BP) CEO Tony Hayward said the environmental impact from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill will probably be "very, very modest."

Hayward said, "I think the environmental impact of this disaster is likely to have been very, very modest. It is impossible to say and we will mount, as part of the aftermath, a very detailed environmental assessment but everything we can see at the moment suggests that the overall environmental impact will be very, very modest.

"Over the last 36 hours we have made a lot of progress on containment on the seabed. We have a piece of technology engineering which we have developed and which is now allowing us to produce oil from the leak to the surface."

Separately, Hayward gave in to pressure to pay for advertising campaigns in Florida, which will tell people the oil hasn't had any impact on the area. He paid out $25 million on behalf of the company.

To me that was ridiculous, but I understand the pressure he's under to try to assuage the fervor related to the spill.

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