BP Shares Rise Despite Long-Term Uncertainty About Oil Spill Effects
BP has continued to see gains in its share price even as its Gulf Coast beach cleanup effort winds down and uncertainty remains about the long-term effects of April's enormous Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
BP's late-2010 "deep cleaning" project, intended to remove buried oil tar from Gulf Coast beaches in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe, is approaching an end as the industrial scouring of shoreline sands covers its last remaining miles. According to media reports, BP elected to employ heavy equipment, using industrial diggers, conveyor systems, dump trucks, and other machinery to process tons of beach sand through screens intended to filter out buried tar balls. The work raised concerns about new environmental damage even as some expressed doubt about its efficacy, noting that BP itself admits new tar balls continue to come ashore even now.
While the controversial deep-cleaning effort winds down, BP's valuation in the market is on the upswing. Speculation that Royal Dutch Shell might be interested in a merger with BP, together with recent comments by Gulf Coast Claims Facility administrator Kenneth Feinberg, may have led to a recent jump in BP's share price. Feinberg recently expressed optimism that only half the $20 billion allocated to the Deepwater Horizon compensation fund might be required to satisfy claims for economic losses associated with the devastating oil spill. Still, Feinberg was careful to distance himself from the legal actions pending against BP, which could result in substantial damage awards. Additional cleanup costs would come from the fund, as well, making BP's final remediation liability unknown.
Meanwhile, the long-term damage to those who live and work along the Gulf Coast, as well as the Gulf of Mexico marine environment, remains uncertain. Fishermen in waters off Florida offer anecdotal reports of reduced catches which they blame on oil pollution from BP's Macondo well, while oeanographers and other scientists express continued concern about the harmfulness of even low levels of petroleum contamination in the water column and on the Gulf seabed. The latter, in response to a mid-December U.S. Coast Guard report indicating that no further offshore cleanup is warranted based on federal government scientists' findings that oil quantities in the water have dropped below harmful levels.
To discuss a case with an experienced maritime lawyer, contact a maritime attorney online at Arnold & Itkin LLP, or call the maritime law office of Arnold & Itkin LLP toll free at 866-222-2606.
