Friday, July 2, 2010

BP's Tiber Field & William Reilly


FT reported:

Less than a year ago, Deepwater Horizon seemed to have set BP on a very different course. Last summer, the group drilled the deepest well ever developed for a commercial operation and struck oil. On September 2, it announced it had discovered a “giant” field, christened Tiber, which was likely to hold more than 500 million barrels of recoverable oil. BP’s shares rose by 4 per cent in a single day, a rare event for a company of BP’s size. Moreover, it seemed that the initial reaction was, if anything, understated. Tiber was a harbinger of a new dawn for the company, in which production from the deep water of the Gulf would drive global growth.

BP's partners in Tiber include ConocoPhillips and Brazil's Petrobras. Oil Spew Commission co-chair William Reilly controls over $2 million in stock in ConocoPhillips. That conflict doesn't go away during Reilly's temporary leave from ConocoPhillip's Board.

The FT piece also omitted Jamie Gorelick's role as BP attorney and BPAmerica External Advisory Council member. I'm happy to fill in the gaps.