Almost a year ago, investors became so nervous in the weeks following the Macondo blowout in the Gulf of Mexico(墨西哥湾) that they briefly wouldn't lend to BP. They feared the British oil giant(巨头) could be crushed under the weight of tens of billions of dollars in fines(罚款), cleanup costs, and payments to families of the 11 rig workers(石油钻塔工人) killed and businesses affected by the worst oil spill in U.S. history. They turned out to be wrong. Not only is BP still in business, it has more cash today than before the spill. Earlier this year the company negotiated massive energy deals in India and Russia. And, despite opposition from some in Congress, it has even resumed exploration(开采) in the deep waters of the Gulf.
BP is "showing it can get off the canvas(避免解雇或驱逐) and still has some fight left," says William K. Reilly, co-chairman of the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling Commission appointed(受任命) by President Obama to investigate the disaster. It "did a lot of things right," he says.
Robert Dudley, the American who became BP's first non-British chief executive officer in October, deserves much of the credit for the company's resilience(恢复力). He's used the company's enormous earning power to help make peace with Washington. Last June, even before taking over(接管) from Tony Hayward, Dudley helped set up the $20 billion Gulf Coast Claims Facility trust fund that to date(至今) has handed out just $3.6 billion in awards so far to individuals and businesses hurt by the spill. By the end of 2010, BP had spent another $10.7 billion on the cleanup, including the cost of deploying(部署，展开) skimming boats, floating oil booms, airplanes, and crews that combed beaches and swamps for oily residue(余渣). It has also promised $500 million for academic research on the Gulf environment and support for the region's fishing and tourism industries. "There are few companies with the resources to do what BP has done," says J. Robinson West, chairman of consultant PFC Energy.