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BP Oil Spill Claims Reach $1.6 Billion

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This morning, BP announced that the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has cost the company $1.6 billion. The London-based company said that included in the $1.6 billion figure were payments of $62 million that have been paid out to 51,000 claims. The figure also includes “the cost of the spill response, containment, relief well drilling, grants to Gulf states” and federal costs.

With several years (or decades, even) of cleanup ahead, the $1.6 billion is seen as a merely an initial cost figure. Credit Suisse actually estimated the total bill at $37 billion.

President Obama, who has been criticized for what has been perceived as a lack of urgency towards the situation, has announced that the government wants BP to set up an independently managed escrow account to compensate those with damage claims.

A majority of the Senate called on BP to set up a $20-billion account, administered by an independent trustee, to pay for cleanup and economic damages from the massive gulf oil spill, “ensuring that there will be no delay in payments or attempt to evade responsibility for damages.”

The letter was signed by 54 senators, almost the entire Democratic caucus. “The damages caused by your company are far reaching,” the lawmakers wrote to BP’s Tony Hayward.

Obama is scheduled to address the nation Tuesday evening in regards to ongoing oil leak.

Though the current situation in the Gulf of Mexico may seem like the worst oil spill in history, it has, so far, been a far cry from the Ixtoc oil spill. The Ixtoc 1, like the Deepwater Horizon, was an exploratory rig that suffered a blowout in the Bay of Campeche (Gulf of Mexico) in 1979. Fast Company created an interesting infographic that compares the world’s worst oil spills. Here is a section from the rather large graphic:

bp oil spill

When you look at the Deepwater Horizon oil spill this way, it doesn’t look as bad as you thought, right? Well take a look at the environmental impact of this current spill, compared to the impact of previous, and some larger, spills:

Picture 6

Experts say that this event could become the largest oil spill in the world in terms of amount of oil leaked, money required for cleanup and claims and damage to the environment. If BP doesn’t find a solution soon, there is little doubt the Deepwater Horizon oil spill might make the number one spot — an unfortunate accolade.

Oil Leak Could Take 90 Days to Repair

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Oil has been spewing out into the Gulf of Mexico at an alarming rate soon after the oil rig, The Deepwater Horizon, first sank on April 20. Since then, an estimated 5,000 gallons barrels per day have been let loose into the Gulf, polluting ecosystems and putting commercial fisherman out of work. It is a situation that worsens with every day that passes.

Speaking on the Sunday morning television circuit, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said it could be 90 days before federal officials and BP, which was leasing the well when a fire broke out April 20, manage to stanch the oil–although he also said it could be stopped much sooner.

Much sooner, only if BP is able to quickly fabricate giant steel domes to be placed over the leaks, and only if the robots responsible for placing the domes can successfully do so in extremely murky conditions where visibility is limited. If this process is not completed soon, this will end up being the worst oil spill in American history, even eclipsing the Exxon Valdez incident in 1989. The local paper of New Orleans, The Times-Picayune, has a great animation of oil spill here.

This incident comes at a bad time for the Obama administration. He recently signed a bill allowing an increase in offshore drilling — and as exploratory drilling increases, accidents like these are likely to follow. Obama visited southeast New Orleans yesterday, telling those listening that, “BP is responsible for this leak. BP will be paying the bill. But as president of the United States, I’m going to spare no effort to respond to this crisis for as long as it continues.”

But Obama may have a larger crisis on his hands than he immediately realizes. As New York Times opinion column writer Stephen J. Dubner put it:

Could the Gulf disaster be just the kind of tragic, visible, easy-to-comprehend event that crystallizes the already-growing rush to de-petroleum our economy? As with TMI [Three Mile Island], it won’t do much to change the facts on the ground about how energy is made. But as we’ve seen before, public sentiment can generate an awful lot of energy on its own, for better or worse.

Comparing this oil spill, and the reaction that follows, to what happened on Three Mile Island may be a bit of exaggeration . . . or maybe not. We will wait and see.