Oil spill compensation payout rate soars: BP

BP said payouts to people affected by its Gulf of Mexico oil spill has dramatically increased since it surrendered authority for dispensing funds to an independent administrator.

BP said the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF), the $20 billion fund it set up to compensate fishermen, hoteliers and retailers whose business was hit by the spill, had paid out 19,000 claims totaling more than $240 million.

The total cost of the spill response has hit $9.5 billion, Europe's second-largest oil company by market value said in a statement late Sunday.

BP said September 3 that the fund had paid out $38.5 million since it began operating August 23. This represented a rate of around $3.5 million per day, broadly in line with the rate at which BP had previously been disbursing funds.

Since September 3, the amount of money being paid out has risen to an average of more than $12.5 million.

Just over a week ago, Bob Dudley, who will take over as BP's chief executive October 1, told analysts that he expected the $20 billion fund to more than cover the total valid claims for compensation.

Eighty-seven days into the crisis, BP finally succeeded in placing a giant cap over the well that stopped the flow of oil Sunday.

Multiple investigations into the disaster are still under way and official responsibility has yet to be determined. An internal BP investigation laid some of the blame on its contractors.

Source: Global Times