BP says cost of Gulf of Mexico spill hits $8 billion

LONDON: BP says it has so far spent $8 billion responding to the disastrous oil well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico.

“The cost of the response to date amounts to approximately eight billion, including the cost of the spill response, containment, relief well drilling, static kill and cementing, grants to the Gulf states, claims paid and federal costs,” BP said in a statement.

The April 20 spill was triggered when an explosion ripped through the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 workers and sinking the huge offshore platform two days later.

BP has forecasted that the disaster will cost a total of about 32.2 billion dollars, after pushing the group into a 16.9-billion-dollar loss in the second quarter — which was the biggest quarterly loss in British corporate history.

The statement reiterated that BP had agreed to set up a 20-billion-dollar compensation fund for residents affected by the spill.

The company said Friday that the total included $399 million paid to settle 127,000 claims from businesses and other affected by the oil spill.

The oil company said more than 28,000 people and 4,000 vessels are still engaged in responding to the spill. BP says no oil has flowed from the well since July 15. —Agencies