A study on energy supply conducted by a German military think tank reports on the potential for serious consequences as oil production declines.

BP admitted last week that the SEC and the Department of Justice were conducting "informal inquiries into securities matters arising in relation" to the offshore rig explosion and subsequent spill.

Hayward's new position will be as a non-executive director on the board of TNK-BP, Russia's third-largest oil company.

Robert Dudley, currently heading BP's Gulf Coast restoration efforts, is seen as Hayward's most likely successor.

China consumed 2,252 million tons of 'oil equivalent' last year, which is about 4 percent more than the U.S. consumed.

An image still from BP video footage shows the new containment cap placed on the leaking oil well.

An internal BP document released by Congressman ED Markey (MA-D) today revealed that the worst-case scenario spill rate could be 100,000 barrels per day.

Investors sold BP shares in a panic last week, as risks came to light that were obvious a long time ago.

BP has made claims that it has not blocked media from covering the oil spill. But a contract that became valid May 2 suggested otherwise.

"We will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law anyone who has violated the law," Holder told reporters today in New Orleans.