BP Executives To Face Capitol Hill, White House Next Week

Source: Dow Jones Newswires

BP Executives To Face Capitol Hill, White House Next Week
Friday 06/11/2010 6:08 PM ET - Dow Jones News

By Siobhan Hughes
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--BP Plc (BP, BP.LN) executives will be hauled up to the U.S. Congress and the White House next week to face officials angry over the continued gush of oil and natural gas from a broken well a mile below the Gulf of Mexico.

BP America chief Lamar McKay will join four executives from other oil companies at a hearing on Tuesday before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee. On Wednesday, BP officials will meet with President Barack Obama and other administration officials. BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward will appear Thursday before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on oversight and investigations, in his first testimony since the April 20 explosion of a drilling rig in the Gulf.

Past hearings have produced angry criticisms from lawmakers but yielded little from BP's McKay, who has repeatedly promised to pay "all legitimate claims" and has said that ongoing investigations will help determine what went wrong. But with the Obama administration and lawmakers facing voters outraged at an inability to shut off the leak, more is on the line for the oil industry, with the hearings shaping the direction of offshore drilling policy and penalties for oil spills. "A congressional 'stampede' towards one or several dramatic changes in U.S. energy policy hasn't happened yet," Kevin Book and his partners at ClearView Energy Partners LLC wrote in a research note this week. "But a highly visible catalyst for action (perhaps a hurricane, skyrocketing cleanup costs, or health impacts) could still make it impossible for members of either party--even those who have historically supported the oil and gas industries--to vote against sweeping and restrictive reforms."

The entire oil industry faces the risks that a current moratorium on drilling new wells in the deep waters of the Gulf will extend beyond the six-month period that President Obama has established. Already, Rep. John Dingell (D, Mich.), who holds a position on the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee that will hear from Hayward, has called for a moratorium on all leasing and drilling until proof that the operations are being done "with full attention to safety." more...



(END) Dow Jones Newswires
06-11-10 1808ET
Copyright (c) 2010 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.




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Congress hasn't yet seen a "highly visible catalyst for action" (like a blowout spewing 50,000-75,000 barrels per day)? Congress needs a hurricane or skyrocketing cleanup costs before they'll act? :banghead: I guess all the news, videos and pictures aren't enough evidence for our Congress that something big has already happened. :crazy: :puke:

How about STOP THE LEAK FIRST... talk later?

STOP the damn leak and talk about business later!

:kick:

:puke:

and a new round of drilling contracts....

In case it's not blatantly obvious by now, I've stopped believing in change we can believe in.... :shrug: