BP Expects To Resume Gulf Of Mexico Drilling Within Months (BP)

Despite the horrendous explosion last year in the Gulf of Mexico at the Deepwater Horizon rig, BP (NYSE: BP) has said that it expects to start drilling back in the Gulf in the next couple of months, despite legal threats and rows over pollution from last year's Deepwater Horizon disaster.

"We expect to be back and actively drilling during the second half of the year," Byron Grote, the company's chief financial officer, told analysts in London yesterday.

The company has applied to resume drilling in the Thunderhorse and Atlantis fields. "This is clearly subject to the regulator's permission being granted," a company spokesmen said.

At last check, shares of BP were off 24 cents to $46.29, a loss of 0.5%.