Deepwater oil spill victims, from waitresses to cabbies and strippers, plead for $BP payouts Compensation fund

Deepwater oil spill victims, from waitresses to cabbies and strippers, plead for BP payouts Compensation fund aims to help 'small people' while blocking the fraudsters, but it is the lawyers who will benefit mosthe Mimosa Dancing Girls strip joint on the edge of New Orleans was probably not what BP chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg had in mind when he promised last week that the company would look after the "small people" affected by the Gulf oil spill. But then every day seems to be full of unpleasant surprises for BP. The Mimosa's owners have just filed a claim for compensation because the fishermen who make up their clientele can no longer afford to frequent the club. BP says that most of the 1,500 claims it is handling across the Gulf each day are from those involved in the fishing industry, unable to work because of the fishing ban. But at BP's New Orleans claims centre, officials say that fishermen no longer make up the bulk of the claimants they see. As well as strip-joint owners, in recent days restaurant waitresses, dock workers, plumbers and electricians have all been through the door. Like the gloops of brown oil that are spreading across the G ulf of Mexico, the economic ripple effects of the disaster are widening. Tourism and the fishing industry are big earners in the region and have been severely hit, but so too have all the other workers who make a living from their custom. Last week BP, under pressure from the White House, agreed to set up a $20bn independently administered fund to pay for the clean-up and meet compensation claims. Lawyers say that $20bn will not be enough, and this weekend Kenneth Feinberg, the man appointed by US President Barack Obama to run it, warned BP that it would have to pay out more if necessary. The pressure increased still further after one of BP's partners on the ill-fated drilling operation which caused the disaster accused the company of "gross negligence". Anadarko said that financial responsibility to meet compensation claims lay squarely with BP. Feinberg is set to take control of the 33 claims centres BP administers around the Gulf. The size and number of the payouts will almost certainly increase as a result. Frustration is mounting over BP's efforts to date. It only increased yesterday after BP confirmed that its chief executive, Tony Hayward, spent the first weekend after his

$BP 'to divest all North Sea assets' in dramatic attempt to reduce its costs Oil company is looking to axe £9.5bn in spending in order to sustain profitability

BP 'to divest all North Sea assets' in dramatic attempt to reduce its costs Oil company is looking to axe £9.5bn in spending in order to sustain profitability amid the costs of the US oil spill Embattled BP is to cut costs by $14bn (£9.5bn) in six months as part of a radical plan to sustain profitability in the wake of the explosion at its Deepwater Horizon oil rig that has led to the worst spill in US history. Well-placed City sources say that BP is planning to sell its remaining North Sea interests as well as stakes in dozens of exploration and production projects where it does not exercise overall control. The board will also consider whether to sell its 1.4% stake in Rosneft, Russia's largest oil company, which it acquired at the time of Rosneft's 2006 flotation for $1bn. But there is no question of BP selling out of its Russian joint venture with TNK, as that operation accounts for 25% of its worldwide resources and around 10% of profits. BP's British and European assets account for little more than 4% of its