STANDARD OIL &lt;SRD> COMMITTEE TRIED TO DELAY BID

  A committee of independent directors of
  the Standard Oil Co unsuccessfully sought a delay in a tender
  offer for Standard shares by British Petroleum Co plc,
  according to offering documents.
      BP's offering document for its 70 dlr per share offer
  describes discussions with Douglas Danforth, who chairs a
  special committee of independent directors responsible for
  monitoring relations with BP. BP has been owner of a 55 pct
  stake in Standard for several years.
      According to the document, the committee's counsel said it
  needed one to two months to evaluate the offering price.
      Danforth, who is chairman of the Westinghouse Electric Co
  &lt;WX>, first learned of BP's interest in acquiring the rest of
  Standard in a telephone call March five from Sir Peter Walters,
  chairman of BP.
      At a meeting march nine, Danforth informed BP that the
  special committee had hired First Boston Corp &lt;FBC> as its
  financial adviser and also retained independent counsel.
      Danforth's concerns that the special committee did not have
  sufficient time were expressed to Walters in a telephone
  conversation and reiterated in a letter from counsel on Monday
  of this week.
  

