BP ‘set for Russian share deal’

BP is set to announce a deal with Russian state run energy giant Rosneft, according to the BBC.

The share swap deal could allow BP to drill for oil and gas in the untouched and totally unproven waters in the Russian part of the Arctic.

BP new chief executive Bob Dudley is hosting a press conference later where details are expected.

It could mean the Russian government owning a significant part of the UK’s largest oil major.

Shares of BP listed in the US climbed 3.5% to $49.18 ahead of the news conference.

Such a deal would be the first significant deal the oil firm has done in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon spill crisis last year.

Since that disaster in the US Gulf of Mexico BP has been disposing of assets.

"We will Trust but we will Verify"

President Obama used a well-known Reganism in his message to oil companies on Friday.

For too long, for a decade or more, there has been a cosy relationship between the oil companies and the federal agency [the Minerals Management Service, MMS] that permits them to drill…It seems as if permits were too often issued based on little more than assurances of safety from the oil companies. That cannot and will not happen anymore. To borrow an old phrase, we will trust but we will verify.

Meanwhile, the BBC reports that BP representatives do not regard the Gulf oil spill disaster as the end of deepwater exploration.

The Gulf Coast Oil Spill: Moving Forward

NYTimes – Paul Krugman says there is a small silver lining to a very dark cloud concerning the Gulf Coast oil spill. Krugman’s op-ed claims that the disaster is:

[A] pointed reminder that the environment won’t take care of itself, that unless carefully watched and regulated, modern technology and industry can all too easily inflict horrific damage on the planet.

Grist – also asserts that the oil spill is a real chancefor the Obama administration to jump-start a clean energy economy.

Mira Oberman – reports how better weather conditions in the Gulf will provide a much needed respite to coastal communities and clean-up operations.

To keep on top of events as they unfold day by day in relation to the Gulf oil spill, visit Climate Progress. By far the best source of information for green current affairs and campaigns stateside.