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©AFP/Getty Images/File / Win Mcnamee

The US government is conducting what could be a criminal investigation into the explosion and oil spill

WASHINGTON (AFP) - British oil giant BP has spent eight billion dollars to battle the Gulf of Mexico disaster, the company has revealed as its crews retrieved key evidence from the seabed.

Robotic submarines recorded the delicate operation as engineers raised a failed blowout preventer from the ruptured well and began lifting it to the surface in order to hand it over to the US Justice Department.

The US government is conducting what could be a criminal investigation into the April 20 explosion and subsequent oil spill and BP is hoping to shift some of the responsibility to its contractors.

The contractors include Transocean, which leased the Deepwater Horizon rig off the Louisiana coast, to BP and Halliburton, which cemented the well.

BP's financial liability will soar if the government determines it was criminally negligent.

The British energy giant has forecast that the world's worst maritime oil spill will cost the group a total of about 32.2 billion dollars, after pushing it into a record 16.9-billion-dollar loss in the second quarter.

The oil flow that spewed virtually unchecked into Gulf waters for weeks, was finally stemmed on July 15, after sullying hundreds of miles of shoreline from Texas to Florida. Eleven workers were also killed in the blast.

©AFP/US Coast Guard/File

Gas from the damaged Deepwater Horizon wellhead is burned in May 2010

BP has vowed to meet the costs of the clean-up and compensation for residents hit hard by a fishing ban and the blow to the local tourist industry.

But a top executive warned Friday that proposed US limits on offshore oil drilling could hurt BP's ability to pay for damages, prompting outrage from environmental groups.

David Nagle, executive vice president for BP America, told the New York Times that legislation before Congress could have an impact on the company's ability to compensate losses from the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

Of particular concern is a bill passed by the House of Representatives on July 30 that includes an amendment banning any company from receiving permits to drill on the Outer Continental Shelf if more than 10 fatalities had occurred at its offshore or onshore facilities, or if it had numerous environmental violations.

BP is not mentioned by name in the legislation, but is the only company that currently meets that description.

"If we are unable to keep those (offshore) fields going, that is going to have a substantial impact on our cash flow," Nagle told the daily, and implementation of such a law "makes it harder for us to fund things, fund these programs" to pay damages.

The Times said BP executives are not backing away from a commitment to pay 20 billion dollars into an escrow fund over the next four years to pay damage claims and government penalties.

The company has also agreed to contribute 100 million dollars to a foundation to support rig workers who have lost their jobs and 500 million dollars for a research program to study the impact of the spill.

But demands continue to rise on BP, the newspaper noted, including from states affected by the disaster.

©AFP/Getty Images/File / Chris Graythen

An estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico after the explosion

"Apparently, BP's efforts to 'make it right' extend no further than their bottom line," said David Pettit, senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council.

"Petro-money may talk in Congress, but extortion is illegal in the United States. All lawmakers need to stiffen their spines. BP's latest outrage cannot stand."

An estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico after the explosion ripped through the rig, sinking the huge offshore exploration platform two days later.

The removal of the blowout preventer -- which was successfully detached from the wellhead at 1:20 pm (1820 GMT) -- is a critical step toward killing the well once and for all, officials said.

The US pointman for the crisis, retired Coast Guard admiral Thad Allen, said during the period of time between the removal of the damaged BOP and installation of the replacement BOP, there was no observable release of hydrocarbons from the well head.

"This is an important milestone as we move toward completing the relief well and permanently killing the Macondo 252 well," the admiral said in a statement.

The ruptured Macondo well was plugged from above with heavy drilling fluid and then sealed with cement last month, but the so-called "bottom kill" operation to permanently seal the well was delayed until the blowout preventer is replaced.

BP has said it hopes the relief well will reach the damaged well by around mid-September, depending on weather conditions.

©AFP/File / Iain Mcgregor

People driving front loaders work on moving rubble blocking Victoria Street in Christchurch

CHRISTCHURCH (AFP) - New Zealand's most destructive earthquake in nearly 80 years caused two billion dollars' worth of damage Saturday, felling buildings, tearing up roads and sending terrified residents fleeing into the streets.

Officials said it was "extremely lucky" no one was killed when the 7.0 magnitude quake shook the island nation's second-largest city of Christchurch just before dawn.

Frightened residents fled from their homes to find streets covered in rubble and glass, but despite the extent of the damage only two people were seriously injured in the city of 340,000 people.

Christchurch mayor Bob Parker said he was "horrified by the amount of damage" which daylight showed was considerably worse than first thought.

"There would not be a house, there would not be a family in our city that has not in some way have damage done to their person, to their property," Parker said on national radio.

"I think it's like an iceberg; there is... below the visible line, significant structural damage."

Few people were on the streets as the quake hit but building facades crashed to the ground, crushing parked cars and showering the roads with shattered glass, while gas and water electricity supplies were cut.

Facts:Quake among New Zealand's worst

©AFP/Graphic

The location of a strong earthquake which hit New Zealand

A state of emergency was declared in Christchurch and a 7:00 pm to 7:00 am curfew imposed in the city centre as initial estimates put the damage at up to two billion dollars (1.44 billion US).

Residents were warned to stay away from damaged buildings for fear of further collapses as severe aftershocks continued to rock the city.

"I think we've been extremely lucky as a nation that there's been no fatalities... we're blessed actually," Civil Defence Minister John Carter said after being briefed on the impact of the quake he described as a "significant disaster".

Prime Minister John Key flew to the city to survey the scene and support residents, many of whom described the quake as a terrifying experience.

"We are not going to let Christchurch suffer this great tragedy on its own," Key said.

The quake, initially recorded at a magnitude of 7.4, struck at 4:35 am (1635 GMT Friday) at a depth of five kilometres (three miles) some 45 kilometres west of Christchurch, the US Geological Survey said.

"Oh my God. There is a row of shops completely demolished right in front of me," resident Colleen Simpson told the Stuff website, adding that many people had run out onto the streets in fear.

Christchurch Hospital spokeswoman Michele Hider said two men in their 50s were seriously injured -- one was hit by a falling chimney and the other was cut by falling glass.

©AFP/File / Carys Monteath

Two women, still in their pyjamas, stand beside a damaged building after a powerful 7.0 earthquake struck Christchurch

Police closed the centre of the city as looters targeted damaged shops, police Inspector Mike Coleman said.

"There's considerable damage there, and we've already had reports of looting. Shop windows are broken and obviously it's easy pickings for displays and things."

In the hours immediately after the quake, roads in the seaside suburbs were packed with cars as residents moved inland, but there was no tsunami.

Kevin O'Hanlon, from the Mairehau area of Christchurch, said: "Just unbelievable. I was awake to go to work and then just heard this massive noise and, boom, it was like the house got hit. It just started shaking. I've never felt anything like it."

Related article:City 'wobbles like jelly' in powerful quake

Mayor Parker said he was in bed when the quake struck and he was "absolutely scared. I've never felt anything like it and I've experienced, like most Kiwis, a number of good shakes."

The quake, felt throughout the South Island and the lower North Island, was the most destructive in New Zealand since the 1931 tremor in Hawke's Bay that killed 256 people.

It caused the temporary shutdown of Christchurch International Airport, forcing the diversion of inbound international flights to Auckland and Wellington until the airport reopened Saturday afternoon.

New Zealand sits on the so-called "Ring of Fire", the boundary of the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates, and experiences up to 15,000 tremors a year. It averages at least one a day that is magnitude 4.0 or stronger.

Meanwhile, as residents took stock of the quake damage they also had an eye on looming bad weather with destructive gale-force winds up to 130 kilometres (80 miles) an hour predicted to arrive on Sunday.

"Winds of that speed can be damaging and with many buildings extensively damaged (by the earthquake) it could cause a major headache for emergency services," a weather service spokesman said.