BP to settle spill claims; cost estimated at $7.8B

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BP to settle spill claims; cost estimated at $7.8B
from MarketWatch.com - MarketPulse
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- BP PLC has agreed to a settlement with thousands of plaintiffs affected by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that the company estimates will cost $7.8 billion, according to media reports late Friday. BP said the payments will come from the balance of a $20 billion fund it set up previously to compensate Gulf Coast residents and businesses impacted by the 87-day spill, the longest offshore spill in U.S. history, The Wall Street Journal reported. Although the settlement amount is uncapped, BP expects the total for medical and economic clams to be $7.8 billion, The Journal said. The settlement comes on the eve of a trial that had been scheduled to begin Monday in U.S. District Court in Louisiana. The trial has been delayed. BP's settlement doesn't affect codefendants Transocean ,Halliburton International or Cameron International Corp. , the other companies involved in the operation of the well and the deepwater drilling rig, The Journal said.