BP’s Survival Was at Risk – Chairman

STOCKHOLM -(Dow Jones)- The survival of BP PLC (BP) was at risk after the company was essentially shut out of lending markets following the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster in 2010, the U.K.-based oil and gas major’s chairman tells a Swedish newspaper.

“This nice, old, large company was in essence shut out of the lending markets. We had short-term loans of around $20 billion. Seen in relation to our assets of more than $250 billion, it wasn’t a high debt level but it was still a gigantic debt, and had we not been able to extend the loans we would have been in real trouble. For a while, there was a risk that we wouldn’t make it,” Carl-Henric Svanberg says in an interview with Dagens Nyheter Sunday.

The Gulf of Mexico oil leak has been called one of the greatest environmental marine disasters in U.S. history. It was caused by an explosion on the Transocean Ltd. (RIG)-operated Deepwater Horizon oil platform, which was drilling for BP on the Macondo prospect, and erupted on April 20, 2010, with oil leaking into the gulf for three months.

Newspaper website: www.dn.se

-By Anna Molin, Dow Jones Newswires

Unlock Exclusive Insights Today!

Join the gCaptain Club for curated content, insider opinions, and vibrant community discussions.

Sign Up