Gulf of Mexico cleanup costs BP £1.5bn

BP has spent $2.35bn (£1.5bn) so far cleaning up the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico, and has paid out $126m in compensation.

To date, almost 74,000 claims have been filed and more than 39,000 payments have been made, the group says. The cost of the cleanup operation to date includes the cost of the spill response, containment, relief well drilling, grants to the Gulf states, claims paid, and federal costs. On 16 June, BP agreed to set up a $20bn compensation fund following pressure from the Obama administration. The firm says it is too early to quantify other potential costs and liabilities associated with the Deepwater Horizon spill. The oil major says 37,000 personnel, 4,500 vessels and 100 aircraft ha...