BP is trying to raise 50 billion dollars to cover the cost of the Gulf of Mexico spill and is preparing to sue its partners in the oil field, British newspapers said on Sunday. The Sunday Telegraph said BP is readying to take legal action against US firm Anadarko, its main partner in the field, for its share of the clean-up costs.
The broadsheet cited a "senior BP source" as saying Anadarko was "shirking its responsibilities", not accepting its liabilities and that legal action in the United States is now likely to follow.
The Sunday Times said BP is working on a plan to raise 50 billion dollars to cover the cost of the oil spill, which would start next week with a bond sale to raise 10 billion dollars.
A further 20 billion dollars would come from bank loans, while the final slice is expected to come from asset sales over the next two years, the broadsheet said.
The push is to make sure they have enough money to deal with claims, and to bolster market confidence in its finances, said the weekly.
Meanwhile The Observer newspaper said BP might sell its remaining North Sea interests, plus stakes in dozens of exploration and production projects where it does not exercise overall control, in a bid to reduce its costs.
The weekly, citing "well-placed City sources", said such measures would cut costs by 14 billion dollars (11.3 billion euros) within six months.
BP will also study the possibility of selling its 1.4 percent stake in Rosneft, which it bought at the time of the Russian firm's 2006 flotation for one billion dollars, the report said.
