{"id":381655,"date":"2011-04-18T20:27:39","date_gmt":"2011-04-18T20:27:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/04\/18\/bp-20-billion-spill-fund-barely-touched\/"},"modified":"2011-04-18T20:27:39","modified_gmt":"2011-04-18T20:27:39","slug":"bp-20-billion-spill-fund-barely-touched","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/18\/bp-20-billion-spill-fund-barely-touched\/","title":{"rendered":"BP $20 billion spill fund barely touched"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\"bp_claims.gi.top.jpg\"Analysts don’t see the oil giant getting any of its $20 billion back, even if the fund doesn’t’ spend it.<\/strong><\/span> By Steve Hargreaves<\/a>, senior writer<\/span>April 18, 2011: 2:59 PM ET<\/span><\/p>\n

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — The fund established to compensate Gulf Coast residents in the aftermath of last year’s massive BP oil spill said Monday it has paid out $3.8 billion so far.<\/p>\n

The Gulf Coast Claims Facility<\/a>, established last August with $20 billion in seed money from BP (BP<\/a>), said it has approved 300,000 claims from businesses and individuals hurt by the spill, out of approximately 857,000 claims submitted.<\/p>\n

The update comes two days before the one-anniversary of the BP disaster<\/a>, which claimed 11 lives and spewed over 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf — the worst oil spill in U.S. history.<\/p>\n

In the press release, the fund tried to diffuse criticism that it has rejected too many applicants and that the awards have been far less than people hoped for.<\/p>\n

“Amounts requested by claimants very often bear no reasonable relationship to the damages actually proven,” the statement said, noting that one applicant tried to get all $20 billion.<\/p>\n

It also noted that in the 574 cases where claimants disputed the fund’s decision, the Coast Guard, the agency that arbitrates claim disputes, did not overturn even one decision.<\/p>\n

The fund employs 3,200 people in five states and has 35 offices. It is independently administered by Ken Feinberg, a lawyer who helped distribute claims related to the Sept., 11 2001 attacks.<\/p>\n

It will continue to pay claims until August 2013.<\/p>\n

While it seems like the $20 billion may not be exhausted by 2013, analysts don’t foresee BP getting any of that money back.<\/p>\n

“It’s like the tobacco money,” said Douglas Youngson, an oil analyst at Arbuthnot Securities, a London-based investment bank. “It’s now one big pot of cash, and it will get spent.”<\/p>\n

A BP spokesman said the company has actually paid out $5.6 billion in damages so far, including the money paid to local and state governments.<\/p>\n

BP took a $40 billion charge to its balance sheet in 2010 to deal with the spill, a number that includes the $20 billion claim fund as well as clean up costs and any foreseeable fines resulting from the disaster.<\/p>\n

The charge resulted in the company reporting a net loss of $3.7 billion in 2010, compared to profits of around $20 billion a year for each of the last few years.<\/p>\n

BP’s share price was halved in 2010, going from over $60 to under $30 a share, and the company eliminated its dividend. Talk even swirled that the firm, the world’s fourth largest<\/a>, could become a takeover target<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But the company’s shares have since rebounded from last summer’s lows and now trading around $45. The dividend has been partially reinstated.<\/p>\n

Analysts expect the company to return to near-normal profitability in 2011, and have a median share target price<\/a> of over $55. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Analysts don’t see the oil giant getting any of its $20 billion back, even if the fund doesn’t’ spend it. By Steve Hargreaves , senior writer April 18, 2011: 2:59 PM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — The fund established to compensate Gulf Coast residents in the aftermath of last year’s massive BP oil spill said Monday it has paid out $3.8 billion so far. The Gulf Coast Claims Facility , established last August with $20 billion in seed money from BP ( BP ), said it has approved 300,000 claims from businesses and individuals hurt by the spill, out of approximately 857,000 claims submitted. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-381655","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"\nBP $20 billion spill fund barely touched - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/18\/bp-20-billion-spill-fund-barely-touched\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"BP $20 billion spill fund barely touched - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Analysts don't see the oil giant getting any of its $20 billion back, even if the fund doesn't' spend it. 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