BP (NYSE:BP) Wants Partners to Share Costs

BP (NYSE:BP) has backed off taking full responsibility for the costs of the cleanup of the oil spill resulting from the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, and now are saying thier partners in the project should bear some of the costs as well, specifically Transocean (NYSE:RIG) and Anadarko (NYSE: APC).

Others which may eventually bear some of the costs are Cameron International (NYSE:CAM), Hero Offshore (Nasdaq:HERO) and Halliburton (NYSE:HAL), all of which has some type of responsibility in the operation.

Estimates continue to rise on the costs of cleaning up the oil spill, now reaching up to $15 billion.

Responding to expectations from the White House that BP should be responsible for cleaning up the mess, BP’s chief executive officer Tony Hayward said other companies should have to pay as well.

Companies are waiting to find out what caused the explosion before making any decisions.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG), Hero Offshore (Nasdaq:HERO) Have Most Gulf Rigs

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) and Hero Offshore (Nasdaq:HERO) have the largest
number of oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, where the Deepwater Horizon
oil rig exploded and resulted in the huge oil spill.

Transocean has the largest number of oil rigs in the Guld with 13,
followed by Hero Offshore's 12. The others rounding out the top five include Diamond Offshore (NYSE:DO) with 10, Ensco (NYSE:ESV) with 8, and Rowan (NYSE:RDC) with 7.

Depending on their future strategy and presence in the Gulf, all these companies will probably ultimately have to pay more to do business in the region, as well as its oil production levels will possibly drop.