BP <BP> MAY HAVE TO RAISE BID - ANALYSTS British Petroleum Co PLC may have to raise its planned 70 dlrs a share tender offer for the publicly traded shares of Standard Oil Co <SRD>, analysts said. "There's a lot of speculation here that someway or other they would be forced to come up with another bid," said Rosario Ilaqua of L.F. Rothschild. And despite BP managing director David Simon's denial today that BP would raise the offer, the analysts said that remained a distinct possibility. Analysts said they base their thinking on Royal Dutch/Shell Group's <RD> <SC> bid to buy the outstanding stake of Shell Oil Co in 1984 and 1985. Royal Dutch/Shell eventually raised its initial 55 dlrs a share offer to 60 dlrs a share, after lawsuits by minority shareholders. "I think they're going to have to go a little higher eventually, just as Royal Dutch/Shell had to go a little higher for the Shell Oil minority shares," Bruce Lazier of Prescott Ball and Turben said. He estimated a price of 75 dlrs a share. Royal Dutch/Shell offered 55 dlrs a share for the 30.5 pct of Shell Oil it did not already own in January of 1984. After objections from minority shareholders about the price, Royal Dutch/Shell raised its bid and began a 58 dlrs a share tender offer in April 1984. But shareholders sued and a court blocked completion of the offer. After months of wrangling over the worth of Shell Oil, Royal Dutch/Shell agreed to another two dlrs increase. It ended up paying 5.67 billion dlrs for the outstanding Shell Oil stake, a significant premium to its original bid of about 5.2 billion dlrs. The analysts made their comments before Simon's remarks at a BP press conference in New York this afternoon. Sanford Margoshes of Shearson Lehman Brothers Inc told clients this morning that a sweetened offer was possible. The analyst said the bid could be raised by two dlrs a share. Analysts do not expect regulatory hurdles because of the Royal Dutch/Shell group precedent. But there may be shareholder lawsuits for the same reason, they said. Goldman Sachs and Co, BP's investment advisor, advised the Shell Oil board in 1984 and 1985.