Oil spill fears continue to hit BP shares

BP’s stock market woes deepened today amid fresh investor fears after the US government launched a criminal and civil investigation into the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster.

Shares in the oil giant fell another 2% on top of yesterday’s 13% plunge as it now faces the threat of criminal proceedings as well as a mounting bill to clean up the devastating oil leak.

Today’s falls compound losses which have already wiped more than a third off BP’s value since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and sank on April 20, killing 11 workers.

As well as the environmental impact of the spill, there are also now fears for BP’s future, with rising speculation its share price decline may soon see it become prey to a takeover.