Letter to Mr. Tony Hayward, CEO of British Petroleum

Letter

Today, Congressman Mike Michaud applauded the announcement by BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg that the company will not pay dividends to shareholders this year.

Michaud joined his colleagues last week in sending a letter to BP urging that the company halt a planned $10 billion dividend payout and a $50 million advertising campaign until they cap the well, clean up the oil and compensate the businesses and people of the Gulf Coast.

"I am pleased that BP suspended these payments and agreed to the creation of an escrow account. They must clean up the Gulf Coast before they spend billions on shareholder dividends," said Michaud. "This catastrophe is far from over. Many businesses and families continue to see their livelihoods devastated by this spill. Now is the time to focus our efforts on the clean up and ensure that BP lives up to its commitments."

The full text of the letter Michaud sent to BP last week can be found below.

June 8, 2010

Tony Hayward
Chief Executive Officer, BP
1 St James's Square
London
SW1Y 4PD

Dear Mr. Hayward,

As BP presides over one of the greatest environmental and economic catastrophes of our time, we find it troubling that your company plans to divert financial resources to shareholder dividends and slick marketing campaigns.

Even as oil threatens to flow into the Gulf of Mexico for months to come, press reports indicate that you hope to distribute $10 billion in dividends to shareholders before the full cost of this devastating oil spill is known. At the same time, your company has launched an aggressive public relations campaign, with full page ads in major newspapers and a reported $50 million television blitz.

We urge you to halt your planned dividend payout and cancel your advertising campaign until you have done the hard work of capping the well, cleaning up the Gulf Coast and making whole those whose very livelihoods are threatened by this catastrophe. Not a moment before then should you return to business as usual.

Sincerely,

MICHAEL H. MICHAUD
Member of Congress

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