BP’s on its own in the Gulf; partners in failed well snub oil giant’s cleanup bills

BP partner refuses to help pay for Gulf spill

NEW YORK — BP owns part of the blown-out well that’s spewing oil in the Gulf. But when it comes to paying for the cleanup, the British oil giant stands alone.

A BP spokesman said Tuesday that partner MOEX Offshore 2007 LLC refuses to pay a $111 million cleanup bill that BP requested from it last month. The other minority owner, Anadarko Petroleum Corp., refused a $272 million bill from BP last week.

MOEX declined immediate comment.

Anadarko argued for the past several weeks that BP was reckless in its handling of the well, excusing the minority partners from what could be billions of dollars in cleanup costs and damage claims. BP already has paid more than $3 billion, and the government handed it another bill for nearly $99.7 million on Tuesday.