Reports claim that an additional £2.4bn has been washed off from the value of BP, since the panic amongst the investors continue, that the management of the Company would not be able to survive the oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

Despite the assurances from the Company that the investors would be entitled to the annual dividend payout at its $10bn (£6.82bn), the shares of BP further plunged 3%, and sent it shares down to 417p.

Following the incident of the Deepwater Horizon rig that caught fire and sank in April, the Company has witnessed losses in the market value. Reports claim that the market value of the Company has plunged by approximately £45bn, or 36%.

To add to the adverse scenario, it is reported that the US authorities have launched a criminal inquiry into the disaster. The development exerts more pressure on BP and its Chief Executive, Tony Hayward.

Questioning the survival of BP from the oil spill fiasco, City Commentator, David Buik of BGC Partners said that, "Tony Hayward has been an excellent CEO until this disaster and would appear to have been unlucky. However, the buck sticks with the man at the top. If BP's share price continues to fall, it could become a takeover target. There are so many imponderables over whether its liabilities would be capped or not".