BP Gulf oil spill fund dries up
30 Jul 2013
BP today announced it has just $300 million remaining in its $20 billion Gulf of Mexico compensation fund.
The oil company set up an initial $20bn fund after the disaster at its Deepwater Horizon platform caused widespread environmental and economic damage.
However, BP revealed in its results for the second quarter that just $300 million remains, and that any subsequent claims made against the firm will have to be taken from future profits.
In the second quarter alone, BP had to pay a total of $987m to claims made through the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Trust. As a result the firm has put aside an additional $1.4 billion in the second quarter to cover the costs of claims.
The results show strong underlying pre-tax performance from BP’s businesses
BP chief executive Bob Dudley
This extra $1.4 billion pushed BP’s profits down by 25% compared to the same period last year to $2.7 billion.
Profits were also affected by lower oil prices, the strength of the dollar and lower post-tax income from Russia.
Regardless, BP chief executive Bob Dudley stated: “The results show strong underlying pre-tax performance from BP’s businesses.”
