Under-pressure oil group BP said today that the cost of cleaning up the mammoth spill in the Gulf of Mexico had hit around $760m so far. BP said it was too early to put a figure on the ultimate bill as lawsuits continue to flood in and as cash was pumped in to efforts to halt the leak and minimise the environmental toll.
The cost has soared by $135m in the past week alone, pushing the cost up from the $625m estimate the company issued on May 18. So far, 23,000 claims have been filed and 9,000 have been paid, according to BP.
The group has made grants to the affected states of Florida, Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi to help with their clean-up costs. But oil is still spilling out at an estimated rate of around 5,000 barrels a day. BP has been collecting oil from a mile-long siphon tube; however this is only capturing around 2,010 barrels a day on average — and as few as 1,360 barrels on some days.
The BP-operated Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and sank on April 20, killing 11 workers and causing an environmental disaster as oil spewed into the ocean. The group began drilling two relief wells earlier this month at around 13,000ft below the seabed in an attempt to cut off the flow of oil, but these are expected to take three months to complete.
In the meantime it is looking at so-called “top kill” plans to plug the well by injecting special fluids to stem the flow of oil, followed by cement to seal it.