BP OIL SPILL COSTS PASS $3BN MARK
Baku, July 10 (AZERTAC). The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has so far cost BP a total of $3.12bn (£2bn), the company has said.
The total includes the cost of containing the spill and cleaning up the oil, and the cost of drilling relief wells.
It also includes the $147m paid out in compensation to some of those affected by the spill.
But BP again warned that the total cost of the spill is likely to be much higher.
The cost is already significantly higher than the $2.65bn cost reported a week ago.
BP said there were now 44,500 people working on the spill response - nearly 5,000 more than a week ago.
But the company also confirmed that efforts to collect oil from the surface of the water had been temporarily placed on hold due to Hurricane Alex, which is currently passing through the region.
Oil is continuing to leak into the Gulf of Mexico following the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in April.
BP said two relief wells being drilled to stop the leak are still on course for completion by August.
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