The deal gave Obama his most tangible success since the crisis began 58 days ago, with criticism over his handling of the worst oil spill in US history hurting the president in opinion polls as his fellow Democrats gear up for tough congressional elections in November.
The fund, which BP will finance partly by selling $10 billion in assets, also eased pressure on the British energy giant, whose share price has withered amid uncertainty over the ultimate cost of cleanup, claims and fines. Obama announced the agreement after White House officials held four hours of talks with BP executives, who emerged to offer an apology to the American people.
“I do thank you for the patience that you have during this difficult time,” BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg said. Svanberg’s “small people” comment was the latest in a string of gaffes by BP officials over the spill. After the remark was widely covered on US newscasts, the Swedish chairman issued a statement saying he “spoke clumsily.” Chief Executive Tony Hayward, the public face of BP’s response to the disaster and author of a few gaffes himself, will appear on Thursday at a congressional hearing where he will face heavy scrutiny over events leading up to the spill and BP’s cleanup of the mess.
