对墨西哥湾漏油事故处理成本会逐步增加的忧虑加深，英国 石油公司(BP PLC)采取多种新途径来增加现金及可用信贷额度，又追加了50亿美元的石油泄漏紧急资金。
知情人士说，英国石油公司上 周以新的无担保银行信贷方式筹措了30多亿美元的资金，并以其在俄罗斯国有石油公司OAO Rosneft的持股及其它资产作抵押借款20亿美元。
英国石油公司目前现金及可 用信贷额度总计达200亿美元，高于该公司在6月16日声称的150亿美元。
英国石油公司租用的一台钻探设备深水地平线 (Deepwater Horizon) 4月底在墨西哥湾发生爆炸，造成可能是美国历史上最严重的漏油事故，受此影响，英国石油公司的股票市值已缩水约1000亿美元。信贷评级机构已将其债务评 级降至接近垃圾债。
《华尔街日报》(Wall Street Journal)上周五在线报道了英国石油公司增加筹资的详细情况。周五英国石油公司股价跌至14年来最低水平，该股当日下午4：00在纽约证交所 (New York Stock Exchange)收于27.02美元，下滑1.72美元，跌幅为6%。
关于漏油处理成本可能会超出预 期的担忧不断加重，部分分析人士推测这起事故甚至会导致英国石油公司递交破产保护。
英国石油公司驳斥了这种推测，说公司有足够资金可安然 度过这场危机。迄今该公司应对这场危机的资金已达23.5亿美元，包括清污、控油、钻孔减压井成本以及向美国各州的拨款以及支付的赔款。尚不清楚英国石油 公司为本次漏油事件付出的最终成本将是多少，也不清楚该公司已采取措施进行的筹款是否充足。
周 五据报一个热带风暴可能在加勒比海形成，并可能向墨西哥湾移动，并继而阻碍英国石油公司控油工作的进展，市场担忧由此加重。该公司本次清污行动加之物流保 障，动用了约三万人力、超过4,500艘船只及约100架飞机。
熟悉情况的银行家们说，英国石油公司有几个资产出售选择方案。可能性较高 的是出售其所持阿根廷油气公司泛美能源公司(Pan American Energy)的60%股份，以及在哥伦比亚与委内瑞拉的资产。
英 国石油公司也可降低在由其合伙人经营的美国油田中的持股，如在荷兰皇家壳牌石油公司(Royal Dutch Shell PLC)运营的Gulf field Mars中的持股。
能源分析师们认为，深水地平线漏油事故影响了英国石油公司在美国的品牌形象，因而该公司可能急于出售在美 资产。
荷兰商业银行(ING BANK)分析师肯尼(Jason Kenney)说，英国石油公司需要减少其在美国的业务以免在美国遭遇政治风险。肯尼预计该公司将减少其在美国岸上天然气或阿拉斯加以外成熟油田的业务。
而 英国石油整个公司被接管的可能性目前不大。
一位知情人士说，漏油事件后，英国石油公司没有接到收购要约。
上周英国石油公 司同意了白宫希望其建立200亿美元托管帐户以赔偿此次漏油事件受害者的要求。
该公司表示，将取消三个季度的股息以抵消补救资金的成本， 将从资产出售和削减资本支出中筹资100亿美元。
英国石油公司发言人高尔斯（Andrew Gowers）说，就像我们上周宣布的，我们的董事会认为在当前环境下，维持非常保守的财务状况，集中力量保留现金是适当的。
英国石油公 司债券收益率周五大涨，其债券保险成本也狂升。保护公司1,000万美元债券不违约的成本一年上升了44,000美元，至580,000美元。
投 资者的忧虑因野村控股(Nomura Holdings Inc.)驻伦敦分公司的一份报告而加剧，该报告说英国石油公司可能会需要出售股票来向商业伙伴作出保证，它拥有资金以化解与漏油相关的成本。
野 村分析师赛姆（Alastair Syme）说，尽管英国石油公司有充足的流动性用于清理费用，并为托管帐户分阶段融资，但如果因飓风破坏影响或油价下跌而导致漏油相关负债增加，该公司可 能会举步维艰。他说英国石油公司的选择有限，因为发债成本更加昂贵，而出售资产需要时间。
赛姆说，英国石油公司估计有20-25亿美元一 年期商业票据展期，以支持逐日交易活动和运营资本，在当前的环境下这样做可能更难（且成本更高）。英国石油公司表示，它不会对财务安排进行评论。
其 他熟悉情况的人士表示，英国石油公司及其顾问曾考虑大规模出售债券，以提振公司的财务状况，但目前已搁置该计划。
野村分析师赛姆在报告中 写道，近期英国石油公司可能通过股票相关方式融资，或许是主权财富基金。但在其股价如此糟糕的情况下这样做，可能会让股东不舒服，因为这将大幅稀释他们的 股权。熟悉情况的一个人说，眼下英国石油公司没有股票或债券计划。
上周左右英国石油公司与瑞士信贷集团（Credit Suisse Group）安排了一次所谓的两头封（cap-and-collar）交易，英国石油公司以其所持Rosneft股权为抵押借入资金。
一 位熟悉情况的人士说，Rosneft的交易收益不到10亿美元，英国石油公司还达成了类似的其他交易。
BP PLC has taken new steps to bolster its cash and available credit, adding $5 billion to its oil-spill war chest amid deepening concerns about the escalating costs of the Gulf of Mexico disaster.
A person familiar with the matter said BP had arranged more than $3 billion in new unsecured bank credit lines in the past week and had picked up $2 billion in cash borrowed against BP's stake in OAO Rosneft, the state-controlled Russian oil firm, and other assets.
BP's total cash and available credit now tops $20 billion, up from the $15 billion that BP said it had on June 16.
BP has lost roughly $100 billion in market value since a drilling rig it had been leasing, the Deepwater Horizon, exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in late April, unleashing what could prove to be the worst oil spill in U.S. history. Credit-rating agencies have downgraded its debt to near junk status.
Details of the additional funding were reported online Friday by The Wall Street Journal as BP's share price fell to its lowest level in 14 years. The shares were off 6%, or $1.72, at $27.02 in 4 p.m. trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Fears have been escalating that the cost of the spill will be greater than expected, and some analysts have speculated the toll could lead to a bankruptcy filing.
BP dismisses such speculation and says it has ample resources to ride out the crisis. It has boosted the bill for its response so far to $2.35 billion, including the cost of the clean-up, containment, drilling of relief wells, grants to U.S. states and compensation claims paid. It is unclear what the ultimate cost of the spill will be for BP and whether the steps the company has already taken to shore up its balance sheet will be enough.
Market jitters were reinforced by concerns Friday that a potential tropical storm in the Caribbean Sea may head towards the Gulf, potentially hampering BP's effort to contain the spill. There are some 30,000 people, more than 4,500 ships and some 100 aircraft involved in the clean-up and logistics.
BP has several options for asset sales, said bankers familiar with the matter. High on its list would be its 60% stake in Argentine oil and gas producer Pan American Energy, and assets in Colombia and Venezuela.
Or BP may reduce its stakes in U.S. fields operated by partners, such as the Gulf field Mars, operated by Royal Dutch Shell PLC.
Energy analysts believe that with the Deepwater Horizon disaster harming its brand in America, BP could be keen to sell U.S. assets.
'BP needs to downsize its exposure to the U.S. due to the political risk they face there now,' said Jason Kenney, an analyst at ING Bank. He expects BP will seek to reduce its position in U.S. onshore natural gas or in mature oil fields outside of Alaska.
One possibility that doesn't appear imminent is a takeover of the whole company.
Though speculation has swirled in recent weeks that a rival such as Exxon Mobil Corp. could swoop in and take advantage of BP's weakened state, several bankers say such a move is unlikely at least until the extent of its spill-related liabilities become clear.
A person familiar with the matter said BP has received no takeover approaches in the wake of the spill.
Last week, BP acceded to White House demands to set up a $20 billion escrow account for compensating victims of the oil disaster.
It said it would offset the cost of the remediation fund by canceling its dividend for three quarters, raising $10 billion from asset sales and cutting capital spending.
'As we announced last week, our board considers it appropriate in the circumstances to maintain a very conservative financial position, with a focus on conserving cash,' BP spokesman Andrew Gowers said.
Yields on the company's bonds soared Friday, as did the cost of insuring its debt. The cost of protecting $10 million-worth of BP bonds against default rose by $44,000 a year to $580,000.
Investors' fears were stoked by a report by Nomura Holdings Inc. in London saying BP may need to sell shares to assure trading partners it has the financial wherewithal to absorb costs related to the spill.
Nomura analyst Alastair Syme said while BP has enough liquidity to deal with the clean-up costs and the phased funding of the escrow account, it may struggle if liabilities from the spill were to rise, for example due to hurricane damage, or if oil prices fall. He said BP's options are constrained because issuing debt has become expensive and selling off assets takes time.
Mr. Syme said BP has an estimated '$2 billion to $2.5 billion of one-year commercial paper to roll over, needed to fund day-to-day trading activities and working capital, which will likely be much harder (and more expensive) to do in this environment.' BP said it doesn't comment on its financial arrangements.
BP and its advisers had been considering a large bond sale to shore up the company's finances, but have shelved the plan for now, other people familiar with the matter said.
Nomura's Mr. Syme wrote that BP could raise equity-linked financing in the near term, perhaps from a Sovereign Wealth Fund. However, doing so at its depressed share price might make current shareholders uneasy, since they could face large dilution. One of those people familiar with the matter said BP has no imminent plans for an equity or bond deal.
In the last week or so, BP has arranged a so-called cap-and-collar deal with Credit Suisse Group, enabling the oil company to borrow funds backed by the Rosneft stake.
One of those people said that the proceeds from the Rosneft deal were less than $1 billion but that the company had struck other, similar deals.