After The Spill: Big Oil Plots Its Comeback

After The Spill: Big Oil Plots Its Comeback
Christopher Helman, 05.18.10, 01:30 PM EDT

BP Chief Tony Hayward thinks the Gulf spill might help the oil industry. Could he be right?


Despite the death threats, BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward says he's sleeping well these days. He looks it: fresh, almost relaxed in his makeshift corner office at BP's emergency response center in Houston. He insists the company has been "extraordinarily successful" in its response to the spill, which so far has dumped more than 100,000 barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico since Apr. 20, threatening tourism and fishing from Florida to Texas. By mid-May 13,000 workers and 500 vessels were trying to contain the giant leak. Leaning back in his chair, Hayward compares the operation to D-day. He quotes Winston Churchill: "When in hell, keep going."

Not that he has a choice. Before the first failed effort to cap the petro geyser BP ( BP - news - people ) faced an ocean of problems. A group of 200 plaintiffs' attorneys met in New Orleans on May 6 to join forces in suing the company. Senator Barbara Boxer (D--Calif.) called for a permanent drilling ban off the West Coast. BP's shares took a deep dive, dropping $25 billion, despite $6 billion in first-quarter earnings, double the results of a year ago.

Hayward gropes for an upside. "Deepwater drilling will be transformed by this event," he says. "If we can win the hearts and minds of the communities that are impacted, then we have the potential to enhance our reputation rather than have it damaged." :eyes:

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