Cleanup Costs and Lawsuits Rattle BP’s Investors

BP shareholders are fleeing the company’s stock amid growing uncertainty about the ultimate bill for cleanup costs, lawsuits, fines and damage to the oil giant’s reputation.

BP’s shares fell an additional 15 percent on Tuesday, as investors reacted to news that the latest effort to stem the gushing oil in the Gulf of Mexico failed over the weekend. It is the steepest drop in shares in about two decades.

Since the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded April 20, the company has lost a third of its market value, or about $75 billion.

The company said Tuesday that it had spent almost $1 billion on cleanup efforts. But that bill is likely to rise as oil continues to spill into the gulf, with no guarantees that any of the new plans to contain the spill will work.