BP chief executive, Tony Hayward, has finally conceded that the UK branch of the company is responsible for an oil spill that occurred off the Gulf of Mexico and is threatening the coast line in what President Obama has referred to as an unprecedented and massive environmental disaster.
Hayward stated that the company is ready to pay for all legitimate claims that may result as the crisis continues to grow, and already have the claims process in place with smaller claims paid on demand and larger claims processed for legitimacy and then paid out.
He also stated that BP is prepared in case the situation actually requires attention for the next two to three months which he labelled as the ‘worst case’ possibility.
Two weeks ago, a rig known as Deepwater Horizon, which is operated by Transocean a subsidiary of BP exploded and then sank resulting in the deaths of 11 people on board and the release of 200,000 gallons of oil into the Gulf.
On Monday, President Obama stated that BP was responsible for the leak and will have to foot the bill and that he will continue to relentlessly monitor the situation. He added that the government response started from the day of the explosion when submersibles were released to survey the 5,000 feet of pope that is leaking oil.
Obama stated that at this point most of the slick is about nine miles from the coastline of the Gulf.
While this will help protect the wetlands, it is embarrassing for the current US Administration as offshore drilling was opened just last month with the assurance that today it is rare for oilrigs to cause spills.
