Oil spill: British Petroleum to put 20 bln dollars in Escrow to pay off claims

Washington, June 17 (ANI): British Petroleum (BP) executives have agreed to US President Barack Obama's proposal to put 20 billion dollars in an Escrow account to pay off claims of those affected by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Obama confirmed this news on Wednesday. Obama announced the deal after wrapping up a meeting with BP executives at the White House.

"This 20 billion dollar amount will provide substantial assurance that the claims people and businesses have will be honoured. It's also important to emphasize that this is not a cap. The people of the Gulf have my commitment that BP will meet its obligations to them," Obama said.

Obama also said BP had agreed to establish a 100 million dollar fund to compensate unemployed oil rig workers affected by the rig closures.

CBS News said that lawyer Kenneth Feinberg, who oversaw payments to families of 9/11 victims, would lead the independent fund.

Meanwhile, BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg told reporters after the White House meeting that he wanted to "apologize to the American people on behalf of all the employees of BP, many of whom are living on the Gulf Coast, and I do thank you for the patience that you have during the difficult time." (ANI)