BP: Claims payments near $400 million as process transitions

As the damages claims process transitions, BP announced Tuesday it has paid nearly $400 million to individuals and businesses along the Gulf coast affected by the massive oil spill.

The Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF), headed by Ken Feinberg, took over the claims process on Monday for those affected by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. All claims filed before Monday will be transferred to the GCCF. 

So far, about 154,000 claims have been filed, 127,000 of those have been paid since the April 20 oil spill, BP said.

Of the total, payments include $157 million to pay the wages of those who have lost jobs, $51 million to fishermen and $48 million for rental property owners. 

BP has worked with the federal government to set up a $20 billion claims fund. The oil giant has sold about $9 billion in assets to have cash on hand to pay into the fund.

BP made its first payment of $3 billion into the fund on Aug. 9 and will make a $2 billion deposit in the fourth quarter of this year with the company expecting to add $1.25 billion a quarter — or $5 billion a year — until all $20 billion has been deposited.

During the first three weeks of August, BP made claims payments of $133 million. Recent payments include $134 million in July, $93 million in June and $39 million in May, BP said in a release.