BP shares have risen sharply on speculation it may have buyers lined up for possible asset sales.
The company is thought to be planning of offload assets worth up to $US10 billion in order to fund cost of the Gulf of Mexico disaster, which has now reached $US3.5 billion.
BP shares rose 9% in trading on Monday and are now more than 30% higher than a low reached late last month. But they still 40% below peak prices before the disaster.
Among the rumoured buyers are PetroChina and US oil firm Apache Corp.
The leak began after an explosion and fire aboard the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig on 20 April. The rig sank two days later.
