that BP is pushing to fix its Gulf oil well leak by July 27.
Both BP and the Coast Guard have been saying for weeks (months now?) that they plan has been to have a fix in place by mid-August. But the Journal quotes BP's Gulf Coast restoration unit managing director Bob Dudley, as saying:
"In a perfect world with no interruptions, it's possible to be ready to stop the well between July 20 and July 27," said the head of BP's Gulf Coast restoration unit, managing director Bob Dudley, in an interview. He added that this "perfect case" is threatened by the hurricane season and is "unlikely."
However the paper also reports that beginning Friday, there is a nine-day period of clean weather coming to the Gulf, which would mean he wouldn't have that excuse to trot out about bad weather for at least another week and a half.
The paper also reports that the July 27 target date is the day that BP is expected to report 2nd quarter earnings and will speak to investors. The Journal adds this about that date:
When they announce earnings July 27, BP officials hope to provide investors with more information on the estimated liabilities from the Gulf spill.
One official said the company wants to be able to describe the oil spill as finite, not infinite, a moment that would allow it to start calculating the total potential liabilities under U.S. law.
This article appears in Jul 8-14, 2010.