The BP oil leak is officially over
The US authorities have today officially confirmed that the BP Gulf of Mexico oil leak is now over after 152 days. It is believed that around 5 million barrels of oil leaked into the Gulf of Mexico causing one of the largest natural disasters in recent times. The impact upon the BP share price has been as dramatic with the company suffering from a financial point of view as well as a reputation point of view.
There are many who believe that BP will never be the same again as the potential cost of the leak, compensation and fines from the US authorities could literally run into billions of dollars. There may also be criminal charges levied against the company and the board of directors with the blame game already having started amongst BP and its subcontractors. Initially it was thought that the leak would be sorted fairly quickly, leaving the company relatively unscathed, but this does not appear to be the case with authorities around the world now questioning the safety record of the company - unfairly in some cases compared to other oil giants.
Even though the downward pressure on the share price has reduced over the last few weeks it is still well off its recent high and unlikely to see those levels for some time.
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