Wednesday, June 9, 2010

BP (NYSE:BP) Being Driven to Bankruptcy?

The more you look at the venom spewing from progressive, socialist news outlets, the more you see BP (NYSE:BP) could be driven to bankruptcy, or as the Democrats are hoping, to receivership, where the Obama administration could take over yet another portion of the industry in America.

With over 6,000 claims being made against BP, and the idea of removing liability caps which would drive BP to a place of being forced to go bankrupt, it doesn't look good for the company to last much longer before having to make the decision.

There are so many terrified environmentalists and government scientists (university-based) which are throwing out such outrageous numbers as to the amount of oil spewing from the oil leak, that it's impossible to accurately gauge how much is really coming out, with some government estimates at the high end of about 19,000 barrels a day.

Now some are making wild claims of 100,000 - 200,00o barrels a day, which if even remotely true, which is highly unlikely, would potentially place the liability of BP at from about $200 billion to $400 billion.

The point is the more outrageous and ridiculous the claims, the less likely BP would have the ability to pay for the liability associated with it ... assuming they start to believe it, or respond to the stories.

Added altogether, if the far end of the spectrum of how much oil is being released into the ocean are close to being accurate, there won't be a BP as it is, and bankruptcy will be guaranteed. It's still possible even under the existing conditions, although less probable.

For those who smell blood and attempt to soak BP for all it has, it is a plan that will backfire, and the attempt by the mainstream media to demonize BP could bring the opposite results of what was hoped for, which is to make them pay by driving the opinion of the American people.

However much oil is being leaked into the Gulf of Mexico will eventually be found out, and we'll at that time understand the liability of BP at that time.

For those looking to sue them to get something out of them, it is going to be a long haul if the claims aren't legitimate, as the company is on life support at this time, and if the alleged rage attempted to be created by the media is flamed, and endless lawsuits are added to those already in place, it's difficult to see how this could end up being a good thing for all the parties involved, as a bankruptcy would wipe a lot of that away.

The clueless mainstream media, online progressive news outlets and politicians are driving BP toward bankruptcy, and they think they're going to gain from it. They won't.

It seems to be the secondary push behind it is to make an excuse for the government to take over the company. If Democrats think they'll be able to get away with this after the healthcare fiasco, and the bailing out of their big-business friends in banking and the auto industry, I think they should stop smoking whatever it is they're smoking.

Does the phrase "Tea Party" mean nothing to them? It should. And doesn't anti-incumbency have something to teach them? Evidently not. They'll learn the hard way though.

Many are trying to turn BP into a political story rather than the accident it was. That's a mistake I think those attempting this will regret doing in the near future.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is not a news story and should not be sold as such. It's barely an editorial.

sapmut said...

I truly think that if you have a question of the damage BP created,then you should visit the Gulf,and see all that is lost..At this point BP's Assets should be siezed/frozen and several exec should be in federal jail until all is worked out.This is not an issue of money,since many claims will never be paid,but for the Environment that is now a memory,and just getting worse.BP could close the well,but chooses to try make money from it,or else the initial dig,the cleanups and everything associated with the other two rigs currently drilling will be for nothing..They are not stupid but Greedy Gods...and so are the politicians that sit on their A#$%^...

Anonymous said...

This is not factual, this is your opinion, why is google posting this as a news story. This belongs on a blog and nothing else, and is of no value to anyone trying to decide about BPs future

AgeTheGod said...

"It seems to be the secondary push behind it is to make an excuse for the government to take over the company."

Of course this ignores the fact that BP is actually a British company (LSE listed) so the US doesn't get to decide whether it takes the company over or not. That would be the decision of the UK Government and subject to EU legislation.

Of course what is more likely to happen is that BP gives the US up as a lost cause - pays the minimum it is liable to (I hear thats $75M for clean-up costs) and walks away.

I think it's called "cutting your losses" when you reach the poiint that no matter what you do it is received badly so the best thing is just to give up.

Given the amount of abuse being thrown around that's what any reasonable person would have done.

I think BP must be getting close to that point.

Anonymous said...

This is not news. Makes me sad that this will make it to Google Financial and make me waste my time reading it.

Mike Eberhart said...

I do think this demonizing of BP is going to backfire on many levels. Driving them into bankruptcy is going to cause financial distress and economic repercussions well beyond the first wave of persons affected directly by the Gulf spill. It is not just the 100,000 BP employees that could next be affected, but all the contractors and all the ripple-through jobs... could hit 1 million+ jobs. Watch the news down in the Gulf States... the same politicians complaining about BP and the spill ALSO are screaming that we cannot stop drilling for oil -- because they depend on it for jobs and tax revenue.

What happened in the Gulf is an unbelievable tragedy. But, we are all going to amplify the tragedy by causing an economic ripple-effect that throws us into a double-dip recession (if not worse), all because we want someone to blame other than ourselves -- keep in mind, we ALL use petrochemical products. Do you really think bankrupting BP will change anything? If their assets are sold off, there will still be oil produced at their wells and fields, and that oil will be refined, and likely end up in your auto (just like it does now, even if you do not use the "BP brand").

I have to ask "sapmut" and everyone else that is anti-BP about their use of oil... are you without blame? I am not without blame... I use oil. We all use it. I wish we were on totally clean solar and wind everywhere, and have wanted that for a long time. But, people do not want to change, and they will continue to cause demand for oil to rise and that oil will be produced somewhere.

Next, why is it OK that ANY oil is leaked ANYWHERE? I regularly see on the news in major cities, stories of overturned tankers spewing their filthy petrochemical contents all over the road, and hazmat teams cleaning it up. Why is THAT "acceptable"? Why are we OK with our tailpipe emmissions choking the air I and everyone breaths? Why? BP makes a great outlet for our venom when we refuse to take responsibility for killing the planet even before this mess. The Gulf already had "dead zones (deoxygenated zones) from all the petrochemical based fertilizers used on farms and on lawns throughout this country... crustaceans are losing their shells to ocean acidification... but THAT is acceptable? We all need to take responsibility and make a massive shift to truly clean living.

BP was just a wakeup call; sadly, and sickly, we needed a wakeup call... even more sick is how we will likely not change our ways after this. It is so much easier to just yell anti-BP rhetoric.

Just my thoughts on the matter.

Anonymous said...

This is clearly not news, opinions have nothing to do on google news.

SteppenTyler said...

I can't believe Google Finance published this link! Shame on you Google for allowing garbage like this to be printed! The issue with BP has nothing to do with money. They are 100% liable for destroying a vast swath of America's heritage, and there is no amount of money that will restore it.

I look forward to the results of the criminal investigation of BP. Their company should be liquidated immediately, with every penny necessary for the clean-up effort be earmark first, and then the rest be paid out to the poorest shareholders who were duped into investing their pensions into such an abysmal company.

sapmut said...

Mr Mike Eberhart,I am not anti oil,but it is a fact that many of the oil companies are so powerful,that they have bought up many of the patents that would have created clean energy long ago..We as a country are behind in so many ways to the rest of the world, and should be working harder for clean energy.Getting back to the gulf,"Yes" it is a wake up call,but to an extreme that did not have to happen.Bp ignored the warning signs,payed off inspectors,forged paperwork(including having a dead guy sign off on it),and should pay the price for it..A term you used (The gulf had dead zones) does not justify the having an oil spill,neither does an overturned tanker.The loss of jobs to BP is going to be regretable,but look at the loss of the economy from Loisianna to Florida(realestate,tourism,businesses)What about their "jobs"..Bp will survive this,but I hope it will be a lesson not easily repeated...

Anonymous said...

if you want to read about a truly atrocious oil spill, read this http://www.epa.gov/nps/toolbox/print/psatautooil.pdf

particularly pg2 : "What’s the problem with motor oil?"

I'll quote it for the lazy : "Used motor oil is the largest single source of oil
pollution in our lakes, streams and rivers. Americans spill 180
million gallons of used oil each year into our waters. This is 16
times the amount spilled by the Exxon Valdez in Alaska."

BP Is just a drop in the bucket of the filthy automotive industry and its environmental consequences.

Quite fear mongering and sell/scrap your car and ride a bicycle (or walk or whatever). Then you'll truly be doing something that matters.

Anonymous said...

The opinion expressed is even more foolish than BP's attitude

Anonymous said...

Dribble, dribble, and more dribble.........