Will BP suspend dividends?
The US authorities are putting more and more pressure on BP in relation to dividend payments and there is a feeling that the company is seriously considering suspending dividends in the short to medium term. This would allow funds to be redirected towards the Gulf of Mexico crisis and cover the cost of not only the cleanup but the significant number of compensation claims which are progressing through the courts.
It is unclear at this point in time how many billions of dollars the crisis will cost BP in the long run but there may also be a big price to pay in relation to future oil exploration around the world. There is even talk that BP will slowly but surely sell off parts of its exploration assets in the US and make a slow withdrawal - although when you consider the size of the US market and the size of the company's US division this would appear to be unlikely. It will be interesting to see how the saga develops in the days and weeks ahead and what long-term impact the disaster will have on both BP and the oil industry and whether in fact UK relations with the US have been tarred forever.
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