Does BP have enough money to pay? Will they have to be liquidated?

[NAO]

What if the cleanup costs and property damage exceeds the total assets of BP? Would the US government be forced to liquidate them and sell off all of their holdings to pay vendors who provided cleanup services and damages to people whose homes or businesses were damaged?

Shouldn't the US freeze BP stock so nobody can sell it? Otherwise, you'd have people taking money out of the company, which might comprimise it's ability to fully cover all the costs of the disaster.

People should not be able to take out money out of the company by selling stock if it might leave US taxpayers stuck with the bill.

[rrneck]

1. Hundred bucks this shit won't cost them dime one. nt

[Meldread]

2. Agreed, although we should also go after Transatlantic and Haliburton.

No need to stop at BP. Go after all three and make them pay for every penny, plus interest.

[Lost4words]

4. you mean like Exxon!? they got a walk and the little people got nadda.

[napi21]

3. Their quarterly PROFIT was multi BILLIONS! I don't think liquidation

will ever become an issue.

[NAO]

7. Cleanup plus damages could cost trillions as long as it's accurately tracked

They don't even know how to stop the leak, much less clean it up.

How much does it cost to clean millions of gallons of oil out of the Gulf of Mexico? How much to scrub each bird with Dawn?

We have no idea how much damage it will cause.

Consider the possibility that all the beach front property from Louisiana to North Carolina being destroyed. How much could individual homeowners claim? Their insurance would go after BP, since they are legally liable.

How much could the State of Florida sue for lost revenues from BP ruined beaches for 1, 10, 20 years?

And if/when another hurricane hits, and it is markedly worse because the wetlands were destroyed by BP's oil, then wouldn't they be liable for at least some of the damage?

What about people who have lost their livelihood (fishermen, people who make fishing boats, people who drive shrimp to processing plants, owners of shrimp plants, employees of plants?) Can't they sue BP?

And what about the people who get cancer from eating fish contaminated with BP's oil? Couldn't they sue for medical costs, plus pain and suffering, and ultimately wrongful death?

But this could all be moot because the raw cleanup costs could exceed trillions, leaving the taxpayers to pay the bill, or else leaving it on the hands of ordinary people by not addressing it.

I don't think they should get off the hook for ANY of the costs: cleanup costs, damages payments, and unintended consequences costs and damages.

[napi21]

10. You're correct on all points, but the OP was about liquidating BP.

I don't know this for sure, but mu guess is that they don;;t have much in tangable assets. The money source is their continued pumping and selling oil. IMO liquidation would be foolish.

[ThomWV]

17. No one will ever spend a Trillion dollars on the cleanup of this spill

Not that a trillion dollars couldn't be spent, I'm just saying it will never happen.

[Contrary1]

5. The owner of the rig is hoping it will cost them less than $27 million in lawsuits...

BP will probably come up with something to cover their asses too.

Company tries to cap what it would pay if it loses lawsuits over rig blast

"A Transocean spokesman said it will cite an 1851 law that makes the owner of a sunken vessel liable only for its value after the accident. The $27 million figure reflects the value of oil the rig was holding when it exploded."


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37128693/ns/business-us_business/

[Abq_Sarah]

6. I'm sure they have enough

To pay for the clean up. Economic damages are capped at 75 million by federal law. Congress is considering retroactively raising the cap to 10 billion but that will face court challenges.

There are three companies that will most likely be liable. BP as the lease holder, Transocean who owed and operated the rig and Cameron who manufacturers the blowout preventer. Transocean has already filed in court to limit their liability to 27 million under maritime law which would seem to apply in this case. It's going to be a huge mess and I'd be willing to bet the lawyers are going to end up with more than the victims.

[flamingdem]

8. BP is worth 5 trillion I read, last quarter profit was 4 billion nt

[lonestarnot]

9. And since the cost of the two occupations have cost us 1 trillion now, I guess and Halliburton

stuffed their pockets full of that money, we should take it back now.

[Kablooie]

11. They are too big to allow to fail. Taxpayers will have to give them a bailout.

[regnaD kciN]

12. If Congress doesn't repeal the liability caps...

...and, personally, I doubt it will be able to pass a Senate filibuster, then the most BP can be forced to pay would be cleanup costs plus $75 million. That's chump change for a company as big as BP. So who's going to pay for it? Look in a mirror. :-(

[Hannah Bell]

13. 4th-largest company in the world, 3rd-largest oil company.

2009 profits = 16.6 billion, or 45 million per day - that's after paying all expenses & taxes & all their tax dodges.

[jtuck004]

14. The only value they have is if they keep pumping oil. Dismembering

them would stop that. Their equipment, at least that part which hasn't sunk, wouldn't bring 10 cents on the dollar. Any leases they might have could be worth something, unless we pass laws that restrict the drilling and production of oil and gas, then less. Their stock is only worth what people would pay for it, and it wouldn't trade for 15 cents if they get taken over.

Maybe sell their gas stations to Exxon? I need to look at where they have corporate offices which may be out of the reach of our jurisdiction.

What would you liquidate? Not disagreeing, because they should almost certainly never do business after what may turn into as much damage as any terrorist attack has ever caused against the U.S., but when all their lights are turned out there won't be much left.

[tavalon]

15. I don't usually tout my own posts but:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8333795

None of them will be liquidated. Just be grateful that they're pretending to be upset and acting like they're trying to fix it. That's all you get.

[Bitwit1234]

16. Just think

if they had added 500,000 to the cost of taking care of the oil well, they would have billions more to add to their coffers. Now they have to pay all this money and are losing production which will cost more billions...

Remember the old proverb....shutting the barn door after the horse got out....seems like it fits BP and Halliburton doesn't' it.