Daily Oil News: BP Claims U.S. Covered Up 2010 Spill

by Adam Patterson | March 30, 2012 12:26 pm

[1]Here are Monday’s oil news[2] updates:

BP Claims U.S. Covered Up Oil Spill Evidence: BP (NYSE:BP[3]) has just released a statement claiming the U.S. has been covering up the extent of the energy giant’s 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Bloomberg reports that the energy giant has gone public[4] declaring that the U.S. government intentionally withheld over 80,000 documents in an effort to diminish evidence of the extent of the 2010 oil spill disaster — with an accompanying court filing declaring that BP has already identified a full 10,000 of these documents. Whether or not the coverup is as extensive as the British oil giant claims, this calculated withholding of industrial intelligence could emerge as an ugly embarrassment for the United States.

Oil Reserves Release Appears Increasingly Likely: Considering the diplomatic furor around Iran and NATO-member apprehension[5] regarding a possible oil crisis, it seems increasingly likely that Western powers may begin opening their strategic oil reserves. According to a recent analysis[6] from Reuters contributor John Kemp, multiple Western powers  may begin opening their reserves if limitations in oil supply continue to bolster the price of crude. If Western powers come to agreement that the conditions for strategic reserves release have been met, Kemp predicts that many countries may begin opening their reserves before this Summer.

Aker Solutions Secures Contract With BP Norway: Norwegian engineering and construction company Aker Solutions (PINK:AKKVF[7]) has just signed a contract extending its maintenance contract with BP Norway. As disseminated by Reuters, Aker’s maintenance, modifications, and operations executive Tore Sjursen has released a statemen[8]t:

“We are very pleased that BP, a key player on the Norwegian continental shelf, renews its trust in our services. This extension ensures the basis for continued development of our relationship with BP.”

The contract is estimated to have been signed to the tune of up to 1.2 billion Norwegian Kroner, approximately U.S. $208 million. Aker’s renewing of its BP Norway development contract bodes well for its success in the region, and may place an overcast above BP’s local competitor Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO[9]).

Adam Patterson is an Assistant Editor of InvestorPlace. As of this writing, he did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities[10]. For more oil news, check out our previous Daily Oil News[11] stories.

Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2012/03/daily-oil-news-bp-claims-u-s-covered-up-2010-spill/

---