'We have strength to deal with spill'

LONDON: Oil giant BP said it had the financial flexibility to deal with liabilities related to its oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and that it was unaware of any justification for the collapse in its shares on Wednesday.

"BP faces this situation as a strong company," the company said in a statement. The cost of the response effort to date has been around $1.43 billion, the company added.

BP's New York-listed American Deposit Receipts fell around 15 percent on Wednesday.