Leo Hickman

We could be waiting millions of years before the Hollywood star's

JACKIE CALMES and HELENE COOPER
WASHINGTON

Obama Meets BP Chairman, Chief Executive At White House

BRITISH energy giant BP Plc reached a tentative agreement with President Barack Obama on Wednesday to place about $20 billion in a special fund to pay damage claims from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Washington: US President Barack Obama, seeking to counter an image of detached leadership of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, will demand on Wednesday that BP Plc set aside billions of dollars to pay damages from the catastrophe.

On Tuesday, US President Barack Obama took the unusual step of speaking directly to the American people in a televised address from the Oval Office in the White House. Earlier presidents have also gone on TV in the Oval Office, but usually at times of war.

Washington: BP America chief executive Lamar McKay told angry lawmakers on Tuesday that the embattled energy giant was

The birds run into trouble when they dive for prey. From above, the water does not look so very different. And of course a bird has no way of knowing about the millions of gallons of oil that have gushed into the Gulf of Mexico since the Deepwater Horizon rig sank on April 22nd.

Abhineet Kumar / Mumbai June 15, 2010, 1:34 IST

Move likely to delay the deployment of idle rigs by Aban Offshore.

The six-month moratorium on deep-water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico is likely to delay the deployment of idle rigs by Aban Offshore and impact the day rates for support vessels that companies such as Great Offshore supply.

BP is considering putting several billion dollars into a ring-fenced cleanup fund to appease American concerns over the soaring cost of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

BP faced renewed US pressure on Sunday to do more to contain the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, as the United States and Britain played down diplomatic tensions over the crisis. British Foreign Secretary William Hague said it was up to the British energy giant, under pressure in the United States to suspend its dividend to help pay for the damage, to decide on its payout to shareholders.