Obama ready for showdown with BP

According to sources, President Obama is set to meet BP officials on Wednesday and tell them that BP will have to pick up the tab for the Gulf oil disaster. Obama on Tuesday vowed that all resources required to to fight the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico would be released as soon as possible.

In a prime time speech to a national audience the Preseident said that in the coming days upto 90% of the leaking oil would be captured and the leak would end later in summer when BP completes a relief well near the site of the disaster.

Referring to his planned meeting Wednesday at the White House with BP's top execs, Obama said he would tell Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg "that he is to set aside whatever resources are required to compensate the workers and business owners who have been harmed as a result of his company's recklessness." He also said that the fund would be controlled by a third party.

In a statement issued by BP officials, they said that "We share the president's goal of shutting off the well as quickly as possible, cleaning up the oil and mitigating the impact on the people and environment of the Gulf Coast. We look forward to meeting with President Obama tomorrow (Wednesday) for a constructive discussion about how best to achieve these mutual goals."

The main agenda on the meeting would be a quick solution to the problem as well as rapid processing of claims.

BP announced Tuesday that it accelerated commercial large-loss claims and has approved 337 checks for $16 million to businesses that have filed claims in excess of $5,000. Initial payments began over the weekend and will be completed this week.

The Food and Drug Administration, meanwhile, said that seafood from the Gulf remains safe for consumers, but health threats from the disaster could last for years, a health expert told a Senate committee.

All that now needs to seen is what are the outcomes of Wednesday's meeting of the President with BP executives.


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