Japan Government: Mitsui Oil Exploration Got BP Bill For Spill

7th Jul 2010 11:53

TOKYO (Dow Jones)---A senior Japanese government official confirmed Wednesday that Mitsui Oil Exploration Co. received an invoice in early June from BP PLC (BP) asking it to pay about Y10 billion as part of the cost to deal with the oil spill in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Mitsui Oil Exploration, also known as Moeco, has a 10% stake in the oil exploration project that has been spewing oil into the sea since April. Moeco is 70% owned by Japanese trading company Mitsui & Co. (8031.TO), and 20% by the Japanese government. Fourteen Japanese companies separately hold the reminder. The Japanese government official, who asked not to be named, declined to speculate whether there might be a need for help for Moeco from its stake holders if the company encountered problems due to any exposure to the oil spill and any subsequent compensation claims. Moeco's insurance contracts may cover the spill and collateral damage to third parties to a maximum of about $45 million, a spokesman of Mitsui & Co. previously said. Moeco didn't respond to an email inquiry by Dow Jones and officials were not immediately available by phone. BP said Monday in a statement that the cost of controlling the oil leak and clean up work so far was $3.12 billion, including containment, relief-well drilling, grants to states affected by the disaster, claims paid and federal costs. The U.K. government has been making contingency plans for a possible collapse of BP, U.K. newspaper The Times reported Tuesday, without directly citing sources. -By Mari Iwata, Dow Jones Newswires; 813-6269-2798; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 07, 2010 06:53 ET (10:53 GMT)