June 14 (Reuters) - Here are developments in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the largest in U.S. history:
TOP DEVELOPMENTS
* U.S. President Barack Obama began a two-day visit to the oil-stained Gulf Coast on Monday, saying there were still problems with BP's processing of damage claims.
* BP announced a plan to expand oil collection from 15,000 barrels per day now to as much as 53,000 bpd by the end of June and as much as 80,000 bpd by mid-July.
POLITICS
* Obama vows a multi-agency effort to make sure Gulf of Mexico seafood remains safe to eat.
* The White House expects BP to set up a multibillion-dollar escrow fund to pay damage claims, to be administered by an independent panel.
* Obama is scheduled to make a televised speech to the nation on Tuesday about the spill and response to it.
* BP took risky shortcuts in drilling its blown-out Macondo well, increasing 'danger of a catastrophic well failure,' two U.S. lawmakers said on Monday.
* Other oil companies are expected to distance themselves from BP Plc on Tuesday as executives gather for a Capitol Hill grilling on the spill.
* BP is strong enough to cope with the financial consequences of cleaning up the spill, a British official told the parliament on Monday.
* Many Americans are angry at BP but don't associate BP with Britain.
COMPANY NEWS
*BP hired investment banks Blackstone, Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse as advisers. Banks help companies raise funds or carry out or fend off takeovers.
* BP shares plunged more than 9 percent in London and New York on Monday, with traders worried about its dividend as it faces a massive spill clean-up bill.
* The spill has created a financial, legal, regulatory and environmental crisis for companies working in the Gulf of Mexico, Moody's said on Monday.
SPILL CONTAINMENT EFFORTS
* BP detailed plans to double oil-collecting capacity by mid-July using a 'hard cap' on the leaking well and additional piping and collection vessels.
* BP said it had captured 15,200 barrels of crude on Sunday, bringing the total since its new containment cap was installed June 3 to 134,500 barrels.
OIL SLICK THREAT
* A second oil storage tank thought to have been on the rig was found washed up on a northwest Florida beach over the weekend. The first showed up Saturday.
* Louisiana has more to lose than Mississippi, Alabama or Florida because it is closest and is economically dependent on oil.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
'Just fix the problem. Everything depends on oysters. If you don't make any money on that, you lose your house and everything else,' Louisiana oysterman Marko Dekovic, who has been unable to fish for three weeks.
(Compiled and Writing by Ed Stoddard; Editing by Bill Trott and Cynthia Osterman)
((For more spill stories, http://link.reuters.com/hed87k)) Keywords: OIL SPILL/HIGHLIGHTS (edward.stoddard@thomsonreuters.com; +1 972 632 7041) 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.
TOP DEVELOPMENTS
* U.S. President Barack Obama began a two-day visit to the oil-stained Gulf Coast on Monday, saying there were still problems with BP's processing of damage claims.
* BP announced a plan to expand oil collection from 15,000 barrels per day now to as much as 53,000 bpd by the end of June and as much as 80,000 bpd by mid-July.
POLITICS
* Obama vows a multi-agency effort to make sure Gulf of Mexico seafood remains safe to eat.
* The White House expects BP to set up a multibillion-dollar escrow fund to pay damage claims, to be administered by an independent panel.
* Obama is scheduled to make a televised speech to the nation on Tuesday about the spill and response to it.
* BP took risky shortcuts in drilling its blown-out Macondo well, increasing 'danger of a catastrophic well failure,' two U.S. lawmakers said on Monday.
* Other oil companies are expected to distance themselves from BP Plc on Tuesday as executives gather for a Capitol Hill grilling on the spill.
* BP is strong enough to cope with the financial consequences of cleaning up the spill, a British official told the parliament on Monday.
* Many Americans are angry at BP but don't associate BP with Britain.
COMPANY NEWS
*BP hired investment banks Blackstone, Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse as advisers. Banks help companies raise funds or carry out or fend off takeovers.
* BP shares plunged more than 9 percent in London and New York on Monday, with traders worried about its dividend as it faces a massive spill clean-up bill.
* The spill has created a financial, legal, regulatory and environmental crisis for companies working in the Gulf of Mexico, Moody's said on Monday.
SPILL CONTAINMENT EFFORTS
* BP detailed plans to double oil-collecting capacity by mid-July using a 'hard cap' on the leaking well and additional piping and collection vessels.
* BP said it had captured 15,200 barrels of crude on Sunday, bringing the total since its new containment cap was installed June 3 to 134,500 barrels.
OIL SLICK THREAT
* A second oil storage tank thought to have been on the rig was found washed up on a northwest Florida beach over the weekend. The first showed up Saturday.
* Louisiana has more to lose than Mississippi, Alabama or Florida because it is closest and is economically dependent on oil.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
'Just fix the problem. Everything depends on oysters. If you don't make any money on that, you lose your house and everything else,' Louisiana oysterman Marko Dekovic, who has been unable to fish for three weeks.
(Compiled and Writing by Ed Stoddard; Editing by Bill Trott and Cynthia Osterman)
((For more spill stories, http://link.reuters.com/hed87k)) Keywords: OIL SPILL/HIGHLIGHTS (edward.stoddard@thomsonreuters.com; +1 972 632 7041) 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.