BP shares posted a better than 8 percent gain this week, the first weekly increase since an April explosion on a BP-operated triggered a massive Gulf oil spill.
The first of two relief wells that are given the surest chance of plugging BP PLC's gushing well is on target to be finished next month, company and U.S. government officials have said. Many analysts, while concerned about potential liability, still feel BP can cover the costs of the containment, clean-up and legal matters.
BP's U.S. shares slipped 4 cents to $29.35 on Friday but still recorded a gain of 8.6 percent for the week.
The market value of the shares rose $7.29 billion this week. That's small consolation to long-term shareholders. Since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20, the value of the shares has dropped $97.44 billion.
One reason shares rose was talk during the middle of the week that a damaged BP could be ripe for a takeover by another major oil company. On Friday, the head of French oil giant Total SA, Christophe de Margerie, said his company is not studying a takeover of the troubled British oil company, although he might be interested in some BP assets if they were put on sale.
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