BP Chairman: Still Estimating Cost,Damages From Spill -Sky News

18th Jun 2010 18:15

LONDON (Dow Jones)--BP PLC (BP, BP.LN) Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg on Friday said that the oil major is still estimating the costs and damages from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, but expects the company to emerge from the crisis. "You must remember BP is a very strong company," Svanberg said in an interview with Sky News. "We will come through this." Svanberg also said that Chief Executive Tony Hayward was turning over day-to-day operations of the Gulf spill response to Managing Director Bob Dudley. Svanberg defended the company's actions leading up to and since the spill. Reacting to criticism that BP had cut corners on safety, he said that had not been the company's intention. He declined to speculate on his or Hayward's future at the company. -By Jeffrey Sparshott, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)207 842 9347; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 18, 2010 13:15 ET (17:15 GMT)