It Figures

$350 Million

As of May 10, London-based energy giant British Petroluem Plc (BP) said the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico had cost it $350 million, suggesting the final bill could be much higher than many analysts predicted, and hitting the company’s shares, according to Reuters. BP said in a statement the amount includes the cost of spill response, containment efforts, relief well drilling, payments to Gulf Coast states to speed up their response plans, some compensation claims and federal costs.

BP’s stock has lost 16 percent since the Deepwater Horizon rig caught fire April 20, killing 11 workers. It wiped around $30 billion off BP’s market value. Analysts had offered forecasts for spill cleanup costs and compensation that range from a few hundred million dollars to $12.5 billion, but the lower estimates are considered to be overly optimistic.

Transocean Ltd., the owner/operator of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that exploded and sank about 41 miles off the Louisiana coast, reported earlier in May that it had received $401 million in insurance payments related to the disaster. Transocean also said in a regulatory filing that it has received a request from the Justice Department to preserve information about the rig explosion, The Associated Press reported.

BP has directed blame for the blowout at Transocean, Reuters reported. Congressional hearings on the rig blowout and spill began May 11.