By Tom Bergin and Kristen Hays
London/Houston - BP's newly named chief executive on Tuesday called the Gulf oil spill a "wake-up call" for the entire industry as the company tallied up its losses and disclosed two US investigations.
Bob Dudley, who will replace gaffe-prone Tony Hayward as CEO on October 1, said safety would be among his highest priorities as he tries to refurbish the oil company's battered reputation.
Image repair may become even tougher after BP said it would offset the cost of the spill against its taxes, costing US taxpayers almost $10-billion.
BP reported a second-quarter loss of $17-billion, including $32-billion in charges related to the oil spill, the largest in US history. It also announced plans to sell $30-billion in assets over the next 18 months to help cover its liabilities.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission and Department of Justice have launched "informal enquiries" into securities matters related to the spill, BP said.
More than five million barrels of oil have spilled into the Gulf of Mexico since the undersea leak began in late April, according to US government estimates. The spill, caused by an explosion that killed 11 people, has devastated communities and fragile ecosystems along the Gulf Coast, killing or injuring countless sea creatures and coastal birds.
Private lawsuits have piled up. Attorneys hoping to lead the legal fight against BP are heading to the unlikely venue of Boise, Idaho, this week as a special judicial panel considers how to handle all the cases.
BP's US-listed shares dipped two percent in afternoon trading. The company has lost about 40 percent of its market value since the explosion.
Ted Parrish, co-portfolio manager of the Henssler Equity Fund in Kennesaw, Georgia, said the sheer size of BP's quarterly loss had unsettled investors.
Wall Street "expected a big number, but to actually read the tape and see that number, it tends to shock people", he said.
But aside from the spill, BP's business is steaming ahead with underlying quarterly profits up 77 percent from the year before thanks to higher oil and gas prices and better refining margins.
The stock had gained on Monday after reports surfaced that Hayward would be ousted as CEO after a series of public relations blunders, including complaining he wanted his "life back" weeks after the start of the spill.
"I believe that it is not possible for the company to move on in the United States with me remaining as the face to BP," Hayward told reporters on a conference call. "So I think that for the good of BP, and particularly for the good of BP in the United States, it is right for me to... step down."
BP's leaking well was capped two weeks ago after gushing up to 60 000 barrels per day into the Gulf, ruining fishing and tourism industries and polluting the shoreline with slimy goo.
BP chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg said the company would take a hard look at itself in the aftermath of the spill: "BP will be a different company going forward."
The White House said President Barack Obama spoke with Svanberg on Monday but declined to say what was discussed. - Reuters