BP Considering Chapter 11 Bankruptcy?

[keepinitreal]

Which is it?Bigger BootNo ExitTilting at Windmills

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-06-25/bp-bankruptcy-in-u-k-is-obama-s-worst-nightmare-caroline-baum.html

[DeadManCrawling]

Just as well get it over with.

I live on the gulf coast. The damages are already here and palpable.

Which of you would happily, tomorrow, go to a restaurant and order shrimp or cram or grouper that was advertised as "Caught in The Gulf of Mexico"?

Aside from those implications, our hotels are empty, our real estate--already in trouble--in worse trouble. Every sector of the economy is in dire straits and will not recover for many years, perhaps decades. The housing crash was bad enough. This could be the death knell for gulf states.

All of those now-broke fishermen, realtors, boat salesmen, hoteliers, and so on USED to buy groceries, supplies, houses, and everything else people need and want. And the people who sold those things bought things THEY needed or wanted.

There is no way a single company can repair the financial damage done. The environmental damage is in a different league altogether.

This is gonna be very bad.

[BCA2009]

I too live on the Emerald Coast, and it is heartbreaking to slowly watch the destruction that is being caused. Our way of life is potenially going be changed for generations.

I don't think BP will file for BK. Their cash flow is too good and they would basically be commiting suicide in the US, where they not only drill (in the gulf), but we are also the largest user of petro in the world. Even if they emerged from Chap 11 and avoided all of the oil spill liability. No one would ever buy BP products again, at least not in the south.

Anything is possible, but they will just litigate an draw out liability claims for years and end up paying what they have to and move on. IMHO.

[helpmeout]

BP may not be able to discharge what is owed to the people that was damaged by their negligence in the oil that is leaking into the gulf (and it is a leak, not a spill). IMO, they shoudn't be able to. But they also should not be the only ones being held responsible. Their partner for that rig should be held responsible, as well.

[banca rotta]

BP may not be able to discharge what is owed to the people that was damaged by their negligence in the oil that is leaking into the gulf (and it is a leak, not a spill). IMO, they shoudn't be able to. But they also should not be the only ones being held responsible. Their partner for that rig should be held responsible, as well.

I don't think they are doing this to discharge anything. I heard the purpose of a bk filing is mostly for an orderly way they can pay for the damages and their bills.

A bk filing wouldn't change much except a chapter 11 trustee and bk judge would decide who gets paid what instead of an obama appointed "czar".

[justbroke]

My absolute favorite quote... and is so applicable here.

Will Hunting in Good Will Hunting...

Why shouldn't I work for the N.S.A.? That's a tough one, but I'll take a shot. Say I'm working at N.S.A. Somebody puts a code on my desk, something nobody else can break. Maybe I take a shot at it and maybe I break it. And I'm real happy with myself, 'cause I did my job well. But maybe that code was the location of some rebel army in North Africa or the Middle East. Once they have that location, they bomb the village where the rebels were hiding and fifteen hundred people I never met, never had no problem with, get killed. Now the politicians are sayin', "Oh, send in the Marines to secure the area" 'cause they don't give a s..t. It won't be their kid over there, gettin' shot. Just like it wasn't them when their number got called, 'cause they were pullin' a tour in the National Guard. It'll be some kid from Southie takin' shrapnel in the ass. And he comes back to find that the plant he used to work at got exported to the country he just got back from. And the guy who put the shrapnel in his ass got his old job, 'cause he'll work for fifteen cents a day and no bathroom breaks. Meanwhile, he realizes the only reason he was over there in the first place was so we could install a government that would sell us oil at a good price. And, of course, the oil companies used the skirmish over there to scare up domestic oil prices. A cute little ancillary benefit for them, but it ain't helping my buddy at two-fifty a gallon. And they're takin' their sweet time bringin' the oil back, of course, and maybe even took the liberty of hiring an alcoholic skipper who likes to drink martinis and f...n' play slalom with the icebergs, and it ain't too long 'til he hits one, spills the oil and kills all the sea life in the North Atlantic. So now my buddy's out of work and he can't afford to drive, so he's got to walk to the f...n' job interviews, which sucks 'cause the shrapnel in his ass is givin' him chronic hemorrhoids. And meanwhile he's starvin', 'cause every time he tries to get a bite to eat, the only blue plate special they're servin' is North Atlantic scrod with Quaker State. So what did I think? I'm holdin' out for somethin' better. I figure f it, while I'm at it why not just shoot my buddy, take his job, give it to his sworn enemy, hike up gas prices, bomb a village, club a baby seal, hit the hash pipe and join the National Guard? I could be elected president.

[helpmeout]

I don't think they are doing this to discharge anything. I heard the purpose of a bk filing is mostly for an orderly way they can pay for the damages and their bills.

A bk filing wouldn't change much except a chapter 11 trustee and bk judge would decide who gets paid what instead of an obama appointed "czar".

They should not be able to do that. It was their actions that led to the damage. They should have no say in who gets paid what.

[MarkM]

Actually, I'm a little surprised we haven't seen discussion of another option -- the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of BP's US subsidiary (assuming the drilling operation was being run through the US sub). The cash flow numbers everyone quotes for BP are world wide. Cutting off BP US to save the bigger BP might be in BP shareholder's best interests.

[bulletproof77]

And you can just bet that there won't be a big "hue and cry" over BP's moral obligation to default on it's debts...i.e the "Strategic Default Movement"...It's only moral when big business does that...

[wanilaw550]

BP’s oil flow is the toughest in the US history and intends wetland, creatures, sportfishing and tourist in five declares. BP has already invested more than $1.43 million to stop the flow and clean it up, and to make up small companies and people since the Apr 20 surge of the Deepwater Skyline oil rig.

While BP’s CEO and panel may say that they have decided out the bankruptcy choice but BP is in such deeply ocean, with obligations such as $37 million in tidy up and lawsuit costs, they clearly need to consider bankruptcy as an choice. The UK energy company encounters more than 200 legal cases, and the US is evaluating the cost of reestablishing natural options demolished or fouled by the flow. The Part 11 bankruptcy processing will help them stop many of these statements and buy some more time to flourish.J


However, in the long run, bankruptcy still will not allow BP to not pay most of the tidy up and loss. The planet statements and other statements would all journey through bankruptcy and be paid in regular course