BP lost $17 billion in second quarter, puts $32.2 billion aside for oil spill

Photo: Marianna Day Massey, ZUMApress.com

As expected, Robert Dudley will take over for embattled BP CEO Tony Hayward starting Oct. 1, The Washington Post reports. The company also announced today that it lost $17 billion in the second quarter of the fiscal year.

According to the Post:

The board said Tuesday that BP had taken a $32.2 billion pre-tax charge in the second quarter to cover the cost of the April 20 spill, including $20 billion it pledged to set aside in an escrow account. The petroleum company faces unquantifiable liabilities in lawsuits from fishermen, holiday hotel owners and tourism businesses across the Gulf Coast.

These numbers give us a sense of BP’s thinking about the cost of the oil spill. Up until now, only the $20 billion escrow account for economic damages, to which the company publicly committed at the prodding of the Obama administration, had hinted at the spill’s probable cost.

And more on Dudley:

The choice of the even-keeled Dudley represents a fresh start for BP, which has seen its reputation badly soiled in the aftermath of the rig explosion and spill.

Dudley grew up in Hattiesburg, Miss., and later spent eight years working in Russia, gaining experience and knowledge that could be key in running a company that relies largely on oil produced in the United States and Russia.