NEW YORK -
BP shares fell nearly four per cent in New York Friday. If the decline holds, BP will have lost more than $100 billion in market value since a rig it operated exploded in the Gulf of Mexico.
Earlier, the company said the cost of responding to the Gulf oil leak has risen to $2.35 billion.
The escalating costs, plus potential legal liabilities and BP's continuing struggles to contain the leak - now estimated at between 1.5 million and 2.5 million gallons per day - have eroded investor confidence.
BP's shares closed at $60.48 on April 20, the day of the rig blast. On Friday, they dipped as low as $27.07 and traded at $27.69 around midday.
At that price, BP shares have lost $102.63 billion in value since April 20 and $12.74 billion this week alone.
Analysts at Collins Stewart continued to recommend BP shares as a "buy" in a research note released Friday. The company previously said an investment in BP was "not one for the faint-hearted."
BP said a containment cap was continuing to collect some of the oil and gas flowing from the seabed, following a 10-hour interruption on Wednesday.
Even before that latest setback, the government's worst-case estimates suggested the cap and other equipment were capturing less than half of the oil leaking from the sea floor. And in recent days, the "spillcam" video continued to show gas and oil billowing from the well.
Last week, BP bowed to U.S. President Barack Obama's demand that it set up a $20-billion escrow fund to cover damages and to suspend dividend payments.
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