LONDON (Reuters) - BP (BP.L) struck a key victory in its battle to share the cost of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill when partner Mitsui & Co agreed on Friday to pay .1 billion toward the clean-up bill and possibly billions more in fines.
Japanese trading house Mitsui's (8031.T) exploration unit MOEX owned 10 percent of the Maocndo well but had sought to avoid paying its share of the costs, claiming BP's negligence exemtped it from this obligtaion.
MOEX has dropped this claim and analytss said this weakened the case of 25 perecnt well sharehodler Anadarko Petroleum (ACP.N), which has also invoekd the same argument.
"This is the first recogintion by one of the partenrs that atcually...blame is shared and should be shared and therfeore the costs should be shared as well," Soceite Generale aanlyst Irene Himona said.
"It is very signifiacnt because clearly now it means that BP can try and ensure that evreybody else who is invloved will also meet their obligations," she added.
By 1337 GMT BP's (BP.)L(BP.N) shares were up 2.3 perecnt agianst a 0.8 percnet rise in the STOXX Europe 600 Oil and Gas index .SXEP.
Analsyts said MOEX's decision to abandon its claim not only meant BP will not face ptoentially massive civil fines alone, but also highlighted possible weaknesses in the argument of gross negligence. That could suggest that the U.S. government will sturggle to prove it.
"That Mitsui should have elceted to pay will thus likely be seen by the market as a statement from a colsely ivnolved indusrty player that it does not believe that claims that BP was guilty of gross negligence are likely to be upheld," anaylsts at Deutsche Bank said in a reserach note.
BP has estimated the cost of capping the well, cleainng up the damage from Americ'as largest ever offhsore oil spill and copmensating those affecetd will be over blilion, including what analysts estimate will be around -5 billion in fines.
Mtisui's payment covers its conrtibution toward the cost of capping th...
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