BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward listens to opening statements before the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee for a hearing on "The Role Of BP In The Deepwater Horizon Explosion And Oil Spill" on June 17, 2010 in Washington, DC.
BP PLC chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg insists the company will survive the worst oil spill in U.S. history as it moves to raise more cash to pay for the cleanup.
"You must remember BP is a very strong company," Mr. Svanberg told Britain's Sky News Friday. "We will come through this."
Mr. Svanberg's assurance comes as Anadarko Petroleum Corp, part owner of the well gushing oil into the Gulf of Mexico, joined in the torrent of criticism of BP as it seeks to escape the huge financial liability.
Anadarko said Friday that BP's behaviour before the blowout was "reckless" and likely represented "gross negligence or willful misconduct," which would affect the obligations of the well owners under their operating agreement.
BP, the well's operator and 65-per-cent owner, said it "strongly disagreed" with Anadarko's allegations, which cap a week in which some top oil executives sought to land the blame at BP's door.
Mr. Svanberg moved Friday to relieve embattled chief executive Tony Hayward of day-to-day responsibility for managing the Gulf of Mexico spill, a day after Mr. Hayward angered U.S. lawmakers with his refusal to answer many of their questions.
BP managing director Bob Dudley will take over daily operations. The company had already announced June 4 that Mr. Dudley would lead the long-term response to the oil spill once the leak had been stopped. Mr. Svanberg's statement accelerated that timeline.
Earlier this week, BP struck a deal with the Obama administration to create a $20-billion fund to pay the cost of cleaning up the Gulf of Mexico and compensate victims. The company said it would suspend its dividend, cut capital expenditures and sell some assets to pay for the spill.
BP is apparently in talks with several banks to raise an extra $7-billion (U.S.) in financing and has hired an adviser to explore selling some assets. Even without new financing, analysts said BP has the financial strength to foot the bill.
"Past crises have taught companies that the time to build a war chest is when you don't obviously need it," said Philip Adams, an analyst at Gimme Credit.
"This may be an abundance-of-caution move."
Reuters reported that BP is seeking $1-billion from each of seven banks, including Barclays, HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland. BP has enlisted Standard Chartered PLC to draw up a list of possible disposals, according to Sky News. BP declined to comment on both reports.
The company generates cash flow of more than $30-billion a year, and Mr. Adams said the company still has "a great deal of resilience" in dealing with the fallout from the accident. The blown-out Macondo well continues to spew 35,000 to 60,000 barrels of oil a day into the Gulf of Mexico.
Also on Friday, BP suffered another credit downgrade as Moody's Investors Service knocked its rating down three notches to A2, from Aa2. That's still a solid medium-grade rating, but suggests possible problems in the future and marks the second downgrade by Moody's this month.
The move follows similar downgrades by Standard & Poor's and Fitch earlier this week.
Investors shrugged off the ratings cut. BP shares gained five cents to $31.76 in trading Friday. The company's stock has already lost half its value since the April 20 spill.
Also on Friday, BP and government officials said they're now capturing as much as 25,000 barrels of oil per day from the leaking well. The company aims to collect 53,000 barrels daily by the end of the month, and 60,000 to 80,000 barrels a day by mid-July.
Meanwhile, the company said work on the ultimate fix - two relief wells - is running ahead of schedule. Drilling on the first well is now within 60 metres of the blown-out well.
Kenneth Feinberg, the man picked by Mr. Obama to oversee the $20-billion compensation fund, pledged during a visit to Mississippi that he expects to start paying claims within 30 to 60 days.