BP's spill-recovery costs grow to $8B

BP said Friday that it has spent about $8 billion so far on its oil-spill recovery efforts in the Gulf of Mexico.

That includes the cost of the spill response, containment, drilling of the relief wells, efforts to kill the well (including "static kill" and cementing), grants to Gulf states, claims paid to those affected and other federal costs, the company said in a news release.

The oil giant has agreed to the creation of a $20 billion escrow account to compensate residents and businesses and to spending another $100 million to help oil rig workers displaced by the Obama administration's temporary ban on deepwater drilling.

But The New York Times reported Friday that BP has warned it may not be able to pay out all the damages if Congress passes legislation blocking it from receiving new offshore oil-and-gas leases or drilling permits. The House passed a bill in July containing a provision that would do just that.

“If we are unable to keep those fields going, that is going to have a substantial impact on our cash flow,” David Nagel, BP’s executive vice president for BP America, told the Times. He said that “makes it harder for us to fund things, fund these programs.”

Andrew Gowers, a BP spokesman, added: “We have committed to do a number of things that are not part of the formal agreement with the White House. We are not making a direct statement about anything we are committed to do. We are just expressing frustration that our commitments of good will have at least in some quarters been met with this kind of response.”

Cross-posted from E2-Wire.