It has been over three weeks since the explosion of Transocean’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig (Oil Spill Explained) and ever since, BP has failed to contain the leakage and environmental damage it caused to the Gulf of Mexico. The rig has sunk into 1,500m (5,000 feet) of water, following an explosion two days earlier. Off the 126 people on board, 11 are missing and 17 were injured. An extensive oil spill response operation has been activated, involving more than 2500 people, a fleet of vessels, aircrafts, dispersants and booms.
As BP tries to contain the massive oil spill, the question remains on just how much oil is leaking everyday. BP continues to claim its about 5,000 barrels a day, while many scientists disagree and believe the flow rate is much higher. However, only one thing is certain, the company’s stock has taken the beating and its costing BP A LOT. According to the latest update by the company, the total cost of containment, as well as settlements, commitments to Gulf Coast states and federal costs have climbed by $100 million to $450 million. Jason Kenney, an analyst at ING, thinks the oil spill bill could top $5.1 billion, with some analysts estimating double that amount.
According to the Financial Times, “BP’s reputation in the US had already been badly damaged in recent years – by the fatal Texas City refinery explosion in 2005, by a serious oil spill in Alaska in 2006, and subsequently by a series of fines for safety violations.”
Today, BP has said it made a breakthough by successfully creating a mile-long funnel to capture some of the flow and bring it to a ship on the waters surface. Let’s just hope it doesn’t become another failed attempt.
The chart below shows the performance of BP, relative to the S&P500 and its two main competitors Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Chevron(CVX). While both XOM and CVX have traded down with the market, BP has sunk almost -22% since the announcement of the oil spill incident.
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Loading ...Tags: BP, British Petroleum, oil spill
Hello, i was wondering where the chart is originally from e.g. from what textbook or website?
[Reply]
Sal Reply:
March 30th, 2011 at 12:42 am
Hi, the chart is from Google finance. You can compare a company’s stock performance within a specific time frame relative to that of major indices and competitors.
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