Dear oh dear. Just as the outlook for BP was starting to look rosier, the US Department of Justice slapped it with a civil lawsuit, seeking environmental penalties and ‘unlimited’ restitution for clean-up costs relating to the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster.
Accused yet again of serious safety failings, the oil major finds itself in deep water.
Down went the stock, shedding 6.55p to close at 470.1p. Aside from the lawsuits, BP is actually making major progress with its own clean-up programme.
It is more than halfway through its $30bn (£19bn) asset disposal plan and has raked in premium prices so far. Nor has it hurt that new boss Bob Dudley is a good ol’ Mississippi boy, sporting a languid Southern drawl that appeals to irate Americans in a way that Tony Hayward never could.
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