[ti:Oil Spill Puts Financial Pressure on BP] [ar:Steve Ember] [al:Economics Report] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]This is the VOA Special English [00:03.02]Economics Report. [00:04.79]BP is one of the world's [00:07.12]largest energy companies. [00:09.44]It reported a profit of [00:11.77]about six billion dollars [00:13.49]in the first three months [00:15.26]of this year. [00:16.58]That was more than double [00:18.50]compared to a year ago. [00:20.47]Now, BP faces growing [00:23.60]political pressure [00:24.92]over the worst oil spill [00:27.29]in American history. [00:29.17]Oil has been flowing [00:30.88]from its damaged well [00:32.61]in the Gulf of Mexico [00:34.12]for almost seven weeks. [00:36.60]But the company formerly [00:38.92]called British Petroleum [00:40.50]also faces growing financial pressure. [00:44.18]Investors fear the long-term costs [00:48.13]for cleanup, recovery and fines. [00:51.36]BP's market value fell more than [00:55.10]sixty billion dollars [00:56.97]as its share price fell [00:59.45]by as much as a third. [01:01.82]On Thursday BP was finally [01:05.01]able to cut a damaged pipe [01:07.69]at the well using robotic vehicles. [01:11.08]The cut was not exactly as hoped, [01:14.77]but it was progress. [01:16.54]Crews then turned to placing [01:19.63]a cap over the pipe [01:21.24]-- not to stop it, [01:22.96]but to direct at least [01:24.83]some of the oil to ships [01:26.75]on the surface. [01:28.32]The leak is about [01:30.49]one thousand five hundred [01:32.06]meters under the sea. [01:33.62]Yet it may not be fully [01:36.21]controlled before August. [01:39.19]Workers are drilling two relief wells [01:42.58]in an effort to ease pressure [01:45.06]on the damaged well. [01:46.88]The Deepwater Horizon, [01:49.86]an oil and gas drilling rig, [01:52.79]exploded on April twentieth. [01:55.83]This week, Attorney General Eric [01:59.07]Holder announced criminal [02:01.13]as well as civil investigations. [02:04.22]ERIC HOLDER: "The Department of Justice [02:05.94]will insure the American people [02:07.76]do not foot the bill [02:09.67]for this disaster and that our laws [02:12.61]will be enforced as much as possible." [02:15.99]By some estimates, [02:17.21]the cost of the cleanup [02:18.83]could reach thirty-seven billion dollars. [02:21.76]The owner of the rig, [02:24.54]Swiss company Transocean, [02:27.12]has asked to have its responsibility [02:29.80]limited to twenty-seven million dollars. [02:33.49]The request is based on a law [02:36.72]from eighteen fifty-one. [02:38.90]But the Justice Department says [02:41.63]that is not enough. [02:44.31]The government could also use [02:46.39]violations of other federal laws [02:49.32]such as the Clean Water Act [02:51.59]to collect money for the spill. [02:54.82]Oil has already reached more than [02:58.50]one hundred kilometers of coastline [03:01.28]in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. [03:05.32]And it threatens the west coast of Florida. [03:09.36]Areas of the Gulf [03:11.54]have been closed to fishing. [03:13.36]But job losses in the fishing industry [03:17.00]are not the only worry. [03:18.87]The Atlantic hurricane season [03:21.96]officially began Tuesday. [03:23.82]Some people worry that officials [03:26.76]could take their land if it becomes [03:29.43]polluted by oil in a storm. [03:32.36]ONE RESIDENT: "If it gets on land, [03:33.63]will they make us leave?" [03:34.58]ANOTHER RESIDENT: "If we have a hurricane [03:36.92]and the oil washes over the land, [03:38.53]they will condemn it. [03:40.30]We'll lose our homes, [03:41.47]we'll lose everything." [03:42.78]And that's the VOA Special English [03:45.73]Economics Report, [03:47.28]written by Mario Ritter. [03:49.31]I'm Steve Ember.