BP execs face angry locals
BP’S TOP executives are preparing to face hundreds of angry New Orleans residents in a “town hall” style meeting after a presidential commission investigating the Gulf of Mexico spill has called for a hearing.
The commission, which is headed by former Environment Protection Agency (EPA) administrator William Reilly, has called for the hearings to start 12 July and is likely to be attended by up to 500 locals.
A spokesperson from BP said that the company will co-operate with any government requests but would not confirm who will attend.
It is understood that chief executive Tony Hayward has told Reilly that he promises to co-operate with the commission.
The national commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill and offshore drilling was
established by US president Barack Obama to conduct an independent probe into the
causes of the Gulf spill.
The news comes as BP?is believed to be seeking additional short-term loans amounting
to around $5bn to help it tackle growing liabilities as a result of the oil spill.
Meanwhile, the oil giant was heavily criticised by US representative Ed Markey yesterday for failing to factor hurricanes into its spill policies. Markey’s comments come as BP’s clean-up efforts have been delayed as the Gulf region is by tropical storm Alex. Although the oil major’s surface operations have stopped, the group said that underwater drilling and containment efforts continue.
But BP took a further hit yesterday after it was ordered to pay a $5m (£3.3m) fine for “submitting false or misleading” reports for energy output on tribal lands in Colorado.