BP hit by new $34bn Deepwater Horizon claim
Source: The Guardian
BP hit by new 34bn Deepwater Horizon claim
Terry Macalister
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 5 February 2013 16.50 GMT
BP has been hit by a new $34bn (£21.7bn) claim for alleged economic losses and punitive damages resulting from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico .
The latest demand comes from local and southern state governments, including Louisiana and Mississippi, hit hard by the pollution that followed the blowout on the BP-operated Macondo well in April 2010.
BP described the methodology for calculating the claims as "seriously flawed" and the oil company said it was confident it would not have to make additional financial provisions.
BP refused to say what provisions it has already made for the $34bn claims, but admits to having taken a further $4.1bn "charge" in the final three months of 2012, bringing the total amount set aside so far to $42.2bn.
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Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/feb/05/bp-deepwater-horizon-charge-rises
