By Jeff Mason
KENNER, La., June 4 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama hammered energy giant BP on Friday over its plan to pay a dividend to shareholders while Gulf Coast residents faced economic hardship because of a huge BP oil spill.
'My understanding is that BP has contracted for $50 million worth of TV advertising to manage their image during the course of this disaster,' Obama said. 'In addition, there are reports that BP will be paying $10.5 billion -- that's billion with a 'B' -- in dividend payments this quarter.'
BP on Friday resisted pressure from some U.S. lawmakers to stop dividend payouts until the full cost of cleaning up the spill is known.
The company is due to announce its second quarter dividend and results on July 27. The $10.5 billion figure quoted by Obama covers dividend payments for the the whole year and not just for this quarter as he said.
Obama was speaking on his third trip to the oil-stained Louisiana Gulf Coast in a month. The six-week-old spill, the biggest in U.S. history, has caused environmental devastation and threatens the future of a multi-billion dollar fishing industry.
He said it was too early to say whether BP's latest attempt to cap its gushing deep sea oil well would be successful, but it appeared to be working so far.
The president has vowed to hold BP accountable for the disaster, saying it must pay the costs of capping its blown-out well and dealing with the massive oil spill.
'I don't have a problem with BP fulfilling its legal obligations, but I want BP to be very clear they've got moral and legal obligations here in the Gulf for the damage that has been done,' he said.
'And what I don't want to hear is, when they're spending that kind of money on their shareholders and spending that kind of money on TV advertising, that they're nickel and diming fishermen or small businesses here in the Gulf.'
PAYMENTS SLOW, NOT ENOUGH
Obama, who has been criticized for not showing enough emotion about the devastation hitting the Gulf region, raised his voice when talking about the London-based oil company.
Obama spoke to reporters after meeting with local officials, state governors and administration officials involved in overseeing the response to the spill.
Officials at the meeting told Obama that Gulf residents and businesses were having trouble getting claims paid by BP.
Some local fishermen and boat operators have also complained that the economic hardship payments they have received from BP, ranging up to $5,000 per person, have been insufficient. They say the payments are hardly enough to pay bills and make ends meet.
BP said on Friday it would be paying a second month of loss of income claims to compensate for income and profit disruptions.
BP, which says the spill has cost it around $1 billion so far, on Friday put off a decision on whether to suspend paying its next quarterly dividend. Most analysts believe the company can foot the bill without cutting its dividend.
Obama has repeatedly lambasted BP over the spill, which has confronted him with one of the biggest challenges of his presidency. The White House announced early on Friday that Obama was postponing a June 13-19 trip to Indonesia and Australia so he could focus on the oil spill.
There is growing public criticism of his administration's handling of the disaster. More than 60 percent of Americans believe both Obama and BP are not doing enough to clean up the spill, according to a CBS News poll released on Friday.
As Obama's motorcade drove into the seaside town of Grand Isle, a group of people stood in front of a house holding a cardboard sign that said 'Help us now.'
(Writing by Jeff Mason and Ross Colvin, editing by Doina Chiacu) Keywords: OIL SPILL/OBAMA (ross.colvin@thomsonreuters.com; +1 202-898-8392) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
KENNER, La., June 4 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama hammered energy giant BP on Friday over its plan to pay a dividend to shareholders while Gulf Coast residents faced economic hardship because of a huge BP oil spill.
'My understanding is that BP has contracted for $50 million worth of TV advertising to manage their image during the course of this disaster,' Obama said. 'In addition, there are reports that BP will be paying $10.5 billion -- that's billion with a 'B' -- in dividend payments this quarter.'
BP on Friday resisted pressure from some U.S. lawmakers to stop dividend payouts until the full cost of cleaning up the spill is known.
The company is due to announce its second quarter dividend and results on July 27. The $10.5 billion figure quoted by Obama covers dividend payments for the the whole year and not just for this quarter as he said.
Obama was speaking on his third trip to the oil-stained Louisiana Gulf Coast in a month. The six-week-old spill, the biggest in U.S. history, has caused environmental devastation and threatens the future of a multi-billion dollar fishing industry.
He said it was too early to say whether BP's latest attempt to cap its gushing deep sea oil well would be successful, but it appeared to be working so far.
The president has vowed to hold BP accountable for the disaster, saying it must pay the costs of capping its blown-out well and dealing with the massive oil spill.
'I don't have a problem with BP fulfilling its legal obligations, but I want BP to be very clear they've got moral and legal obligations here in the Gulf for the damage that has been done,' he said.
'And what I don't want to hear is, when they're spending that kind of money on their shareholders and spending that kind of money on TV advertising, that they're nickel and diming fishermen or small businesses here in the Gulf.'
PAYMENTS SLOW, NOT ENOUGH
Obama, who has been criticized for not showing enough emotion about the devastation hitting the Gulf region, raised his voice when talking about the London-based oil company.
Obama spoke to reporters after meeting with local officials, state governors and administration officials involved in overseeing the response to the spill.
Officials at the meeting told Obama that Gulf residents and businesses were having trouble getting claims paid by BP.
Some local fishermen and boat operators have also complained that the economic hardship payments they have received from BP, ranging up to $5,000 per person, have been insufficient. They say the payments are hardly enough to pay bills and make ends meet.
BP said on Friday it would be paying a second month of loss of income claims to compensate for income and profit disruptions.
BP, which says the spill has cost it around $1 billion so far, on Friday put off a decision on whether to suspend paying its next quarterly dividend. Most analysts believe the company can foot the bill without cutting its dividend.
Obama has repeatedly lambasted BP over the spill, which has confronted him with one of the biggest challenges of his presidency. The White House announced early on Friday that Obama was postponing a June 13-19 trip to Indonesia and Australia so he could focus on the oil spill.
There is growing public criticism of his administration's handling of the disaster. More than 60 percent of Americans believe both Obama and BP are not doing enough to clean up the spill, according to a CBS News poll released on Friday.
As Obama's motorcade drove into the seaside town of Grand Isle, a group of people stood in front of a house holding a cardboard sign that said 'Help us now.'
(Writing by Jeff Mason and Ross Colvin, editing by Doina Chiacu) Keywords: OIL SPILL/OBAMA (ross.colvin@thomsonreuters.com; +1 202-898-8392) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.