BP Promises to Pay for Oil Spill

But adds it 'wasn't our accident'; Transocean ran the rig
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted May 3, 2010 11:17 AM CDT
BP Will Pay For Gulf Oil Spill Disaster, CEO Says : NPR
Out of work fishermen hired by BP PLC lay oil booms in preparation for the spreading oil spill in Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Louisiana Sunday, May 2, 2010.   (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

BP CEO Tony Hayward says his company will “absolutely be paying for the cleanup operation” in the wake of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. “There's no doubt about that. It's our responsibility—we accept it fully,” he told NPR, promising to pay all "legitimate" claims, and implying that the company wouldn't draw things out in court the way Exxon did after the Valdez spill. "We have a claims process set up. There are small claims today that are being paid instantly," he said.

Hayword said the same thing on NBC's Today Show, though he sounded a bit more disgruntled about it. “It wasn't our accident,” he said. Another company, Transocean, operated the rig that exploded, he explained. It “was run by their people, their process.” Nevertheless, BP has deployed a huge fleet of fishermen to try to contain the spill, and is building a device to capture the oil at 5,000 feet below sea-level—an unprecedented feat. (More British Petroleum stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X