Fortunately for BP, they make more than ten billion per annum....

http://www.bp.com//assets/bp_internet/globalbp/globalbp_uk_english/set_branch/STAGING/common_assets/downloads/pdf/BP_Annual_Review_2009.pdf

D.C. Current/Barron’s

 | SATURDAY, MAY 29, 2010

Obama Will Need a Gusher of Money From BP

By JIM MCTAGUE | MORE ARTICLES BY AUTHOR(S)

BP's cleanup tab may be a lot bigger than expected.

BP IS GOING TO BE TAKEN TO THE CLEANERS, and President Barack Obama will be at the wheel of the delivery van. For the sake of his electioneering Democrats, the president must squeeze every dime he can from the company before November to appease voters appalled by his administration's languid response to what could be the greatest man-made environmental disaster since World War II. Dozens of Democratic candidates, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, already are down in the polls, owing to the unpopularity of the party's health-insurance reform bill. The outlook for the Dems will be even grimmer come November if the Big Spill poisons the electoral waters more.

The financial risk to BP (ticker: BP) seems as bottomless as its Gulf oil well. Obama told reporters at a press conference Thursday that the spill was "bad for their [BP's] bottom line." He added, "They will be paying a lot of damages. We are going to stay on them about this."

Hell hath no fury like a wounded politician. A USA Today/Gallup Poll reported Thursday that 53% of the public believes the president's handling of the crisis has been poor, versus 43% who say that it's been good. He claims that the disaster's politics don't affect him, but it's obvious that this isn't the case. At his news conference, he answered questions tentatively and defensively and, in my opinion, projected weakness. It's a far cry from the bold and brash candidate Obama, who coined the phrase "Yes, we can!" While trying to defend his handling of the Big Spill during the press conference, he meekly admitted, "We can always do better."

BP is expected to pay for economic losses due to tourism declines along the Gulf coast as well as actual cleanup costs. Experts claim the bill will come to around $10 billion. That seems way low. The affected states -- Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida -- take in a total of some $83 billion a year from tourism. The states don't break out the portion coming from coastal areas, but a conservative guess would be 10%, or $8.3 billion. Then comes the fishermen, boatyards, sunscreen manufacturers, you name it. In other words, cleanup and economic compensation could cost far, far more than $10 billion.