BP Passes the Buck to Oil Well Partners

Though BP has been the evil face of the Gulf oil spill, the company is passing the buck onto its partners in the Macondo well, and there's certainly no shortage of buck to be passed: Last month, BP sent a bill for $272 million to Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, which owns a 25 percent stake in the well, and $111 million to Mitsui Oil Exploration Company, which owns a 10 percent stake, according to invoices obtained last week by TPMMuckraker.

BP claims that its partners are also financially liable for a total bill that could top $60 billion, according to some estimates. Surge Desk has prepared a quick look at the two companies hiding in the background.

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation
Anadarko is an oil and gas exploration and production company based in Texas and a major offshore driller worldwide, according to the New York Times. BP sent the invoices to Anadarko and Mitsui on June 2. On June 18, Anadarko CEO Jim Hackett accused BP of recklessness in its management of the well and said that the oil spill could have been prevented.

The Macondo well was already being drilled when Anadarko invested in it in December, 2009. There were no Anadarko employees on the rig the night of the explosion. But if it is implicated in the disaster, Anadarko could end up paying $15 billion, according to a New York Times report. That plus the current moratorium on offshore drilling could severely injure the company.

So far, Anadarko has only said that it is "assessing our contractual remedies."

Mitsui Oil Exploration Company (MOECO)
Mitsui is a Japanese oil and gas exploration, development, production, and sales company. Mitsui Group, one of the world's biggest publicly-traded companies, owns a 70 percent share in MOECO.

MOECO has said little about the accident and damages except that it is cooperating with investigations. The company hasn't said whether or not it will pay its invoice, due July 12, saying last month that it was "premature" to form an "immediate conclusion."

If BP is found to be guilty of gross negligence, then Anadarko and Mitsui will be absolved of responsibility. The payments are due to BP by this weekend, according to the invoices.