BP Putting Together a $50 Billion Cleanup Fund

As anger grows over the fact that BP’s CEO is out watching a yacht race while the Gulf oil blowout festers, a London paper reports that BP is set to raise $50 billion to cover the cleanup costs for the biggest oil spill in U.S. history.

BP would not confirm any exact numbers, but the newspaper, The Sunday Times, reported that BP will raise $10 billion from bonds, $20 billion from banks, and $20 billion from other asset sales over a two-year period. —JCL

Reuters:

BP is planning to raise $50 billion to cover the cost of the largest oil spill in U.S. history, London’s Sunday Times reported without citing sources. The paper said BP planned to raise $10 billion from a bond sale, $20 billion from banks and $20 billion from asset sales over the next two years.

[BP] had said last week that it would suspend dividends and increase the pace of asset sales to $10 billion this year.

A spokesman for the group would not confirm any numbers on Sunday, when asked about the Sunday Times report.

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White House / Chuck Kennedy

An aerial view of the southern Louisiana coast now under siege from oil washing ashore from BP’s blown well.