The payout is only the start of BP's pain. The White House is insistent that the $20bn (£13.5bn) is not a cap
Barack Obama wrung an apology from BP and an agreement for the oil company to make a $20bn down payment into a special compensation fund for victims of the Gulf oil spill today after a four-hour meeting at the White House.
The payout is only the start of BP's pain. The White House was insistent that the $20bn (£13.5bn) was not a cap, and the company's chairman, Carl-Henric Svanberg, announced that BP would not be paying dividends this year. Svanberg's appearance at the White House was calculated to mollify public anger in America at the chief executive, Tony Hayward, who is due to testify on the spill before Congress tomorrow .
Obama said the $20bn – equivalent to two years of dividends for BP – may not be enough to honour all the economic claims against the company.
"This is not a cap," Obama told reporters. "The people of the Gulf have my commitment that BP will meet its obligations to them."
He said the fund would be administered by the lawyer who oversaw payments to victims of 9/11, Kenneth Feinberg.
Feinberg went on to serve as Obama's "pay tsar," setting salary limits for companies getting the most aid from a $700bn government bailout fund.
The deal was announced four hours after four BP executives – led by Hayward and Svanberg – marched up to the west wing, allowing the cameras of cable television networks a clear view of what was immediately dubbed a "perp walk" – the US slang term for a police parade of suspects.
Svanberg used the moment to try to repair BP's battered image in America by serving up an apology. He said BP would conduct its own investigations into the spill.
The deal appeared to settle the biggest concern for residents of the Gulf: that BP, which has already spent more than $1.5bn on clean-up costs, would not make good on claims from fishermen and other businesses put out of work by the spill.
Obama also extracted a commitment from BP for a $100m fund for oil rig workers put out of work by the moratorium on drilling – which the oil company had been resisting. Initially, Obama was expected to spend just 20 minutes in the meeting in the Roosevelt room, his personal first with BP executives since the gusher in the Gulf began 58 days ago.
But while White House and BP officials described the encounter as "constructive", it was clear there were contentious moments. "He is frustrated," said Svanberg. However, by the end of the meeting, Svanberg suggested that the White House and BP may for the moment have declared a truce, suspending the tough rhetoric administration officials have turned on the oil company.
"What has been clear today is that this administration and our company are fully aligned in our interest of closing the wells cleaning the beaches and caring for those who are affected," Svanberg said.
Barack Obama's pound of flesh: $20bn compensation and no BP dividends | Environment | The Guardian
BBC Focus Magazine | science, technology and the future
:Jester::Jester:
Barack Obama wrung an apology from BP and an agreement for the oil company to make a $20bn down payment into a special compensation fund for victims of the Gulf oil spill today after a four-hour meeting at the White House.
The payout is only the start of BP's pain. The White House was insistent that the $20bn (£13.5bn) was not a cap, and the company's chairman, Carl-Henric Svanberg, announced that BP would not be paying dividends this year. Svanberg's appearance at the White House was calculated to mollify public anger in America at the chief executive, Tony Hayward, who is due to testify on the spill before Congress tomorrow .
Obama said the $20bn – equivalent to two years of dividends for BP – may not be enough to honour all the economic claims against the company.
"This is not a cap," Obama told reporters. "The people of the Gulf have my commitment that BP will meet its obligations to them."
He said the fund would be administered by the lawyer who oversaw payments to victims of 9/11, Kenneth Feinberg.
Feinberg went on to serve as Obama's "pay tsar," setting salary limits for companies getting the most aid from a $700bn government bailout fund.
The deal was announced four hours after four BP executives – led by Hayward and Svanberg – marched up to the west wing, allowing the cameras of cable television networks a clear view of what was immediately dubbed a "perp walk" – the US slang term for a police parade of suspects.
Svanberg used the moment to try to repair BP's battered image in America by serving up an apology. He said BP would conduct its own investigations into the spill.
The deal appeared to settle the biggest concern for residents of the Gulf: that BP, which has already spent more than $1.5bn on clean-up costs, would not make good on claims from fishermen and other businesses put out of work by the spill.
Obama also extracted a commitment from BP for a $100m fund for oil rig workers put out of work by the moratorium on drilling – which the oil company had been resisting. Initially, Obama was expected to spend just 20 minutes in the meeting in the Roosevelt room, his personal first with BP executives since the gusher in the Gulf began 58 days ago.
But while White House and BP officials described the encounter as "constructive", it was clear there were contentious moments. "He is frustrated," said Svanberg. However, by the end of the meeting, Svanberg suggested that the White House and BP may for the moment have declared a truce, suspending the tough rhetoric administration officials have turned on the oil company.
"What has been clear today is that this administration and our company are fully aligned in our interest of closing the wells cleaning the beaches and caring for those who are affected," Svanberg said.
Barack Obama's pound of flesh: $20bn compensation and no BP dividends | Environment | The Guardian
BBC Focus Magazine | science, technology and the future
:Jester::Jester: