Energy NEWS $BP bankruptcy would offer no protection from Gulf cleanup costs

Energy
· BP faces grilling in Congress, Obama to speak on TV – BP’s chief faces accusations in Congress that the company caused the Gulf spill with a strategy to cut costs. Reuters
· BP bankruptcy would offer no protection from Gulf cleanup costs – Experts say BP would be unlikely to avoid paying liability claims by seeking bankruptcy protection. Bloomberg
· BP crew focused on costs, Congress – BP made a series of cost cutting measures that ran against advice of key contractors in the days before the April 20 rig explosion. Numerous documents show critical decisions made by BP which left the well with vulnerabilities. WSJ
· BP could lose US rig leases over $50B cleanup – President Obama could yank BP’s lucrative oila dn gas leases, which would wipe out more than $55B in revenue and possibly push the company into bankruptcy. Some think tBP could lose its leases unless it works out a deal with the White House to bankroll a possible $50B cleanup of the spill. NY Post http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/nuclear_option_em4QbvEXZQg2fJLLHLLEYO?CMP=OTC-rss&FEEDNAME=

· BP debt rating cut to BBB from AA by Fitch.
· Australia's Aquila in dispute with Vale on coal jv – Australia’s Aquila Resources said it was in dispute with a subsidiary of Vale over the budget of their Eagle Downs coking coal project. Reuters
· Japan firms seek funds for renewable energy – Japanese companies are struggling to raise money to invest in renewable energy due to a lack of debt financing. Reuters
· Oil above $75; Asia demand offsets Greece downgrade – Oil held steady as prospects for rising demand in emerging economies offset concern about the impact of Europe’s debt crisis. Reuters
· Singapore SMX to launch euro-priced Brent futures – The Singapore Mercantile Exchange is set to become the first bourse to trade oil in euros, allowing investors to hedge energy and currency exposure simultaneously during Asian trading hours. LSE  
· Spain to cut renewable energy goals - Spain will aim to increase clean power capacity to 70 gigawatts by 2020 from 40 GW at the end of 2009, compared with a previous goal of 75 GW.  The objective for solar energy will be cut to 13.4 GW from 15.7 GW while the target for offshore wind power will be cut to 3 GW from 5 GW (Bloomberg)
· Don’t be negligent about Anadarko – The WSJ said that APC’s $12B drop in market value and a 25% stake in the well implies a full cost of $48B ($74B pretax). Given the drop and current estimates, this shows the company’s stock price has overreacted severely. Bank of America is estimating that total present value of claims might run to $11B, well below the $74B implied loss. WSJ
· LEN, SPWRA to make solar-powered homes easier to afford – LEN and SPWRA are working together in a plan that allows home buyers to lease rather than buy solar panels. LA Times