BP Share News (BP.)

LONDON (Dow Jones)--Embattled oil company BP PLC (BP) plans to raise $50 billion to cover the cost of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, more than twice the amount previously disclosed, The Sunday Times reports without citing sources. The board of directors approved the plan last week, the newspaper reports. The first wave of capital raising could come as soon as next week with a $10 billion bond sale. The company is also in talks with banks on arranging another $20 billion in loans. The final $20 billion is expected to come from asset sales over the next two years, the paper says. BP is accelerating its fundraising because its cost of borrowing may rise sharply. The three large ratings agencies slashed the group's credit status last week amid fears that the claims from America's worst environmental disaster could reach $100 billion, the paper says. BP spokesman Andrew Gowers wouldn't confirm the details of the capital raising program above. "We will continue to access a diverse range of sources of liquidity.... [BP is] maximizing and hoarding cash to be able to deal with the issues in the Gulf," he said. BP has suspended its dividend payments to shareholders and announced plans to raise $10 billion from asset sales over the next 12 months, Gowers said. This compares with non-core asset sales of $2 billion to $3 billion in 2009, he added. U.K. newspaper the Observer said the company's asset sale program includes plans to divest its remaining North Sea assets as well as stakes in dozens of exploration and production projects where it doesn't exercise overall control. BP also plans to sell its 1.4% stake in Russian oil major Rosneft [ROSN.RS], which it acquired at the time of Rosneft's floatation in 2006 for $1 billion, the newspaper reports, citing "well-placed city sources." Gowers declined to comment on what he said is market speculation. "The story is highly speculative as BP is only beginning the process of identifying which assets it would be prepared to sell," he said. David Peattie, head of BP's Russian and Kazakhstan's interests, said the oil major hasn't sold and "isn't planning to" sell its stake in Rosneft. But he noted that the sale progress will probably include non-core upstream assets. BP CEO Tony Hayward and Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg have been criticized for the handling of the oil spill crisis and are facing mounting speculation that one of them may be forced to resign. Hayward has passed control of the day-to-day handling of the spill to Bob Dudley, an U.S. BP executive. A person close to the company said Chip Goodyear, the former chief executive of BHP Billiton, the mining company, could be brought in to fill either post, The Sunday Times reports. Gowers said replacing either of the top two executives isn't on the board's agenda. "We are completely focused on response to this terrible disaster...Nothing else is on the board's agenda at the moment," he said. U.K. newspapers said Hayward was spotted attending a prestigious yacht race Saturday as his company continues to deflect criticism over the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Hayward was spotted by photographers on his yacht, "Bob," which was competing at the JP Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race off the Isle of Wight. Gowers confirmed that Hayward was at the race. "He had a rare bit of private time with his son," he noted. Newspaper website: www.thesundaytimes.co.uk -By Alex MacDonald, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)20 7842 9328; alex.macdonald@dowjones.co (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 20, 2010 08:04 ET (12:04 GMT)