President Barack Obama expects BP to foot bill for wages lost because of drilling moratorium

[ProSense]

excerpts from articles)

President Barack Obama expects BP to foot bill for wages lost because of drilling moratorium

By Bruce Alpert, Times-Picayune

The Obama administration expects offshore oil rig workers who lose wages as a result of the administration's moratorium on deepwater oil and gas exploration to be reimbursed by BP, a White House spokeswoman said Monday.

The costs could be significant.

The Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association estimates that each of the 25 operating Gulf rigs affected by the moratorium, and another five that had planned to begin operations before the end of the year, normally would employ between 800 and 1,400 workers. The average wages per worker is $1,804 a week.

That could mean lost income of between $150 million to $300 million a month, the association said.

There was no comment from BP on whether it would agree to pay claims for lost wages from oil rigs shut down by the moratorium, which was declared after the British oil giant's Deepwater Horizon rig exploded April 20 and began leaking millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The company has been accepting claims from fishers and others who have lost income because of the leak.

White House spokeswoman Moira Mack said the administration expects BP and any other responsible parties, presumably the two other companies connected to the Deepwater Horizon -- Halliburton and Transocean -- to cover the wages of workers who lose their jobs because of the moratorium.

"To the extent there is any delay in BP and other responsible parties paying such compensation, employed individuals who are laid off should file with their state for regular unemployment insurance benefits and other applicable benefits," Mack said.

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[obxhead]

1. I expect to see unicorns shooting rainbows out their arse

on my next trip to the mountains too. I doubt it's going to happen without some really good drugs first though.


Just like BP's not going to really pay out what they owe without a knock down drag out fight in the courts. Even then they'll likely hide enough assets to dodge what they will fully owe before it's all said and done.

[ProSense]

2. "Just like BP's not going to really pay out what they owe without a knock down drag out fight"

Fighting with BP is not the same as fighting with unicorns. I doubt BP can pretend to be an imaginary creature.

[obxhead]

3. ok, my post could have been far better expressed.

Expecting something and getting it does not often happen.

It will be a long difficult road to get BP to come anywhere close to pay outs that will actually be the damage caused by BP. I don't expect BP to roll over and pay it all. In the following few years BP will pay out a lot, but no where close to what is owed. It will take armies of lawyers and likely a decade or more to even get close to full restitution. Which means well after Obama's Presidency is over even assuming he gets 2 terms.

[niceypoo]

4. About time