Will Deepwater claims sink BP?

Oil giant BP is struggling to contain the soaring costs of paying compensation for 2010's Deepwater oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Oil giant BP is struggling to contain the soaring costs of compensating businesses and individuals for the Deepwater oil spill it caused in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. It is taking legal action against the administrator of the compensation fund in order to recover some of the money, insisting that the fund's payout formula has been misinterpreted.

The fund will remain open for claims until next April. A judge will hear BP's case on 8 July. BP has claimed that it could be "irreparably harmed" by spiralling payouts and there are fears that the dividend could be at risk. BP has set aside a total of $42.2bn in its accounts to cover the costs of the spill.

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