'Too early' to put figure on final bill for Gulf coast clean-up

THE cost of cleaning up the mammoth oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has hit around $760 million (£523 million), BP revealed yesterday.

The oil firm said it was too early to put a figure on the ultimate bill as lawsuits continue to flood in and cash was pumped in to efforts to halt the leak and minimise the environmental toll.

The cost has soared by $135m (93m) in the past week alone.

So far, 23,000 claims have been filed and 9,000 have been paid, according to BP.

The group has made grants to the affected states of Florida, Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi to help with their clean-up costs. But oil is still spilling out at an estimated rate of about 5,000 barrels a day.

BP has been collecting oil from a mile-long siphon tube; however this is capturing only about 2,010 barrels a day on average – and as few as 1,360 barrels on some days.

The BP-operated Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and sank on 20 April.