"Obama Plans First Oval Office Speech to Put Pressure on BP"

"President Obama will use his first Oval Office speech Tuesday night to outline a plan to legally compel BP to create an escrow account to compensate businesses and individuals for their losses from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, administration officials said on Sunday.

It would be part of a week of activities intended to convey presidential command of a crisis that continues to test both the government and the company.

Mr. Obama will press for the escrow account if BP does not establish one voluntarily. The board of the London-based company will discuss the idea and other spill-related issues -- including a brewing controversy over a big dividend for shareholders coming due this summer -- at an emergency session on Monday, company officials said.

But it does not expect to announce decisions until after its chairman and chief executive speak with Mr. Obama at a meeting he has called for midweek."

Jackie Calmes reports for the New York Times June 13, 2010.

SEE ALSO:

"BP Chairman Summoned To Obama Meeting Over Oil Spill" (AFP)

"Obama To Demand Vast Fund From BP for Victims' Claims" (Washington Post)

"Coast Guard Tells BP: Too Little, Too Slow" (New Orleans Times-Picayune)

"Obama Plans Fourth Tour of Gulf Oil Spill" (AP)

"Obama To Address the Nation on Bp Oil Spill" (Washington Post)

"After Delays, U.S. Begins To Tap Foreign Aid for Gulf Oil Spill" (Washington Post)

"President Tells Britain No Hard Feelings Over Spill" (Huffington Post)

"BP May Lose U.S. Oil Leases, Contracts as Gulf Spill Punishment" (Bloomberg)

"Obama Leadership on BP Spill Faces Testing Week" (Reuters)

"Zakaria To Media: Oil Spill Isn't About Obama'S Emotions" (Raw Story)