BP Spending on Gulf Disaster Response

BP PLC has issued an estimate of its costs to date of about $2.65 billion for its response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The costs include spill response, containment, relief-well drilling, grants to Gulf states, claims paid and federal costs. BP said it has received more than 80,000 claims and made almost 41,000 payments, totaling more than $128 million. The amount doesn't include a $20 billion fund for Gulf damages it created this month.

BP PLC reported that it had recovered or flared 435,600 barrels of oil since the Deepwater Horizon disaster on April 20. BP was spending $6 million a day when the spill began, but that cost has soared to $100 million a day as the slick has spread and efforts to cap the leaking well have intensified.

BP has taken new steps to bolster its cash and available credit, adding $5 billion to its oil-spill war chest amid deepening concerns about the escalating costs of the Gulf of Mexico disaster. BP PLC has a stake in the Russian state oil giant OAO Rosneft (TNK-BP International)and has picked up $2 billion in cash borrowed against its stake in Rosneft and other assets. BP has also arranged more than $3 billion in new unsecured bank credit lines in the past week. (WSJ, 6/28/2010)