Reply #75: BP won't pay $85 billion. [View All]

Exxon paid half billion for Valdez. However for sake of argument even $85 billion one time charge wouldn't bankrupt BP. Hell even $200 billion in liabilities wouldn't bankrupt BP assuming govt allowed BP to structure the repayment over say 10 years.

Of course BP is also insured so they won't "lose" 100% of any settlement. Estimate on the impact to insurers is $3.2 billion so BP has sizeable insurance protection.

Now a payout that larger (largest in global history) would tank the stock 95% but it wouldn't bankrupt the company. Not even close. Try reading their financial to get an idea of how solid the company is.

Hell if they had to they could always spin off some assets. Sell their solar arm (worth about $30 billion) to a competitor. Sell some international leases to other major petrochemical companies.

There simply is no scenario in which BP goes bankrupt.