BP PLC (BP) shares fell as much as 5% Monday morning following a statement late Friday indicating its partner in the leaking Gulf of Mexico oil well, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC), plans to refuse paying its shares of escalating clean-up costs.

At 1032 GMT, BP's shares were down 15 pence, or 4.3%, at 342 pence, making it the worst-performing company in the FTSE100 index.

Anadarko Chairman and Chief Executive Jim Hackett said Friday that "BP's behavior and actions likely represent gross negligence or willful misconduct," which if proven could mean its partners in the well are not liable for their share of the soaring oil spill costs.

Anadarko has a 25% stake in Macondo. Its potential liability would be a far greater burden for the medium-sized oil explorer than for BP--Anadarko's first-quarter net profit was $716 million versus $6.08 billion for BP.

Mitsui & Co. Ltd. (8031.TO) holds 10% and has yet to comment.

BP said it strongly disagreed with Anadarko's claims and expects its partners in the well to pay their full share of the costs.

BP Monday morning said costs for the Gulf spill response had reached $2 billion as it continues work to contain the leak and to pay claims for damages. To date, more than 65,000 claims have been submitted and more than 32,000 payments made, totaling about $105 million, BP said. "It is too early to quantify other potential costs and liabilities associated with the incident," the company said in a statement.

BP last week struck a deal with the White House to set up a $20 billion claims fund over 3 1/2 years. The agreement initially buoyed the company's shares, though investors are now weighing new information on the size of the spill and potential costs to respond.

BP faced fresh criticism Sunday from U.S. Representative Ed Markey (D., Mass.) who revealed the company's worst-case scenario estimate for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill was 100,000 barrels of oil a day. The well is now estimated to be leaking between 35,000 and 60,000 barrels of oil a day into the Gulf's waters.

On Monday the London-headquartered company said it was progressing with plans to capture more oil gushing from the well. Two systems are now in place and on Saturday captured or burned off just over 21,000 barrels of oil, compared with 25,000 barrels the previous day.

A third system remains on schedule to begin first operations around the end of June or early July.

"Plans also are being developed for further options to provide additional containment capacity and flexibility. These projects are currently anticipated to begin operations around mid-July," BP said.

By mid-July, BP hopes to be able to capture 60,000 to 80,000 barrels of oil a day, the company said in a June 13 letter to the U.S. Coast Guard.

Longer-term, BP hopes to stop the leak entirely with relief wells, though they are not expected to be completed before early August.

-By James Herron and Jeffrey Sparshott, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)20 7842 9317; james.herron@dowjones.com
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