BP Chairman Svanberg statement, Q & A (video/text)

June 16, 2010

Day 58

BP posts

LIVE feed

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POTUS re: BP meeting (video/text)
Svanberg clarifies “small people” comment

After the WH summoning, BP Chairman Swede Carl-Henric Svanberg spoke to the assembled media while Brit Tony Hayward (CEO), Bob Dudley (Managing Director) and Lamar McKay (Chairman/President BP America) stood behind him. Hayward and McKay look terrible and Dudley looks like he always does – above it all. My guess is Mr Svanberg enjoys more than his fair share of grog.

(L-R) Hayward, Svanberg, Dudley, McKay

Key words: obligations, responsibilities, tragedy, legitimate, damage, proper, swiftly, fairly, right, words, actions, fully aligned, patience, get all the language right, fair amount of time, big, small.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

MSNBC

Text follows

[hand transcribed]

SVANBERG:

Here at BP we have always met our obligations and responsibilities, and we have made clear from the first moment of this tragedy that we will live up to all our legitimate responsibilities. We have agreed today with the president a framework that should assure the American People that we mean what we say.

We will look after the people affected, and we will repair the damage to this region – the environmental damage to this region and to the economy.

We are announcing today, as you heard from the president, a $20 billion commitment to make sure that all proper claims are handled swiftly and fairly. We have also announced an independent adjudicator that makes sure that the right people will get the right money at the right time.

The BP board has today decided that we will not pay any further dividends this year.

We made it clear to the president that words are not enough. We understand that we will, and we should be, judged by our actions.

What has been clear today, is that this administration and our company are fully aligned in our interest of closing this well, cleaning the beaches, and caring for those that are affected.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to the American People on behalf of all the employees in BP,  many of whom are living on the Gulf Coast. And I do thank you for the patience that you have in this difficult time. Through our actions and commitments, we hope that over long term, that we will regain, uh, the trust that you have in us.

Thanks a lot, and I will take a couple of questions.

Q: I want to ask you: Did BP take safety shortcuts on the Deepwater Horizon?

SVANBERG: We are going through a series of investigations. And we in the board, we will do our own independent investigation, where we will scrutinize everything that we do to make sure that we understand the root cause of this tragic accident –  because it shouldn’t happen.

[UNINTELLIGBLE]

SVANBERG: I have no further comments on that.

Q: That was a long meeting. What were the sticking points? What were the  points of disagreement that had to be resolved? And are you concerned about illegitimate payments?

SVANBERG: I think it was a very constructive meeting, and it is a meeting that includes many different parts, and it is important to get all the language right. But the determination and the ambition to get through this was clear from the beginning.

Q: How long did you spend with the president himself?

SVANBERG: I spent a fair amount of time. And I must say that he is — he comes across as a — he is frustrated, because he cares about the small people. And we care about the small people. I hear comments sometimes that large oil companies are greedy companies or don’t care – But that is not the case in BP. We care about the small people.

-END-

They walk away to the sound of shouted questions and snapping cameras.

What I would like to know is what the Marine on duty thought of it all.