BP says Deepwater Horizon claims starting to wind down

Oil giant has paid out tens of billions in wake of 2010 disaster

Oil super major BP is set to book another $1.7 billion charge from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 as part of the settlement for the disaster.

However, the group said, despite the fourth-quarter hit, the lengthy settlement process for the mammoth claims related to the spill is winding down.

BP said cash payments related to the blast – which killed 11 rig workers and led to millions of gallons of oil being spilled into the Gulf of Mexico – are now expected to be around $3 billion in 2018, rather than its previous estimate of just over $2 bn.

The fourth-quarter charge was made to cover remaining payments to businesses to compensate for economic losses from the oil spill and other claims linked to the court-supervised programme as a result of BP’s class action settlement.

“With the claims facility’s work very nearly done, we now have better visibility into the remaining liability,” said Brian Gilvary, BP’s chief financial officer.

“The charge we are taking as a result is fully manageable within our existing financial framework, especially now that we have the company back into balance at $50 per barrel.”

The bill for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill had already reached more than $62bn by last December. But BP said in its latest update on the cost of the tragedy that it will continue to “vigorously appeal determinations of claims that it believes are non-compensable under the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee settlement agreement.

Shares in BP closed the session down 2.70% or 14.40p at 518.30p. Poundland is to open more than 150 new Pep&Co fashion outlets in its existing stores over the next year as part of its aim to become a “major high street fashion player”.

The expansion will double the availability of Pep&Co in the discount retailer’s stores, beginning on February 1 in the UK and continuing to Ireland before Easter.

Poundland said the move would elevate it to a top-15 clothing retailer by volume.

We now have better visibility into the remaining liability. BRIAN GILVARY, BP CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

BP has paid out more than $62bn since the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010.