With the cleanup costs associated with the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico climbing above $3 billion, BP is showing some signs of panic. The oil giant sent out demands last month for $400 million to partners in the Deepwater Horizon project, according to documents released by a Senate subcommittee last week. BP wants Anadarko, which owns 25 percent of the well, and Japan's Mitsui Oil Exploration Company, which owns 10 percent, to pick up some of the tab. Jim Hackett, Anadarko's chief executive, said last month that he refused to accept any blame for the spill, adding that BP's actions "probably amounted to 'gross negligence or wilful misconduct,' " the Guardian reported. Newspaper reports on Sunday said that BP Plc is "seeking a strategic investor to secure its independence in the face of any takeover attempts as it struggled with a devastating oil leak," Reuters news agency reported. Advisers are reportedly looking to sell between 5 and 10 percent of the company for up to $9.1 billion. Proposals from financial institutions in the Middle East have already been submitted tp BP, which has lost more than half of its market value since the April 20 explosion.