BP Share News (BP.)

By Alex MacDonald Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--Embattled oil major BP PLC (BP) said Friday it has spent $2.35 billion to date to clean up, contain and payout claims and grants to the states on the Gulf of Mexico that have been impacted by the U.S.'s largest oil spill. BP said a total of 364,500 barrels of oil have been recovered or flared by its containment systems to date, with 16,830 barrels collected on Wednesday alone. The BP systems also flared 36.7 million cubic feet of gas. BP said the two systems continue to collect oil and gas flowing from the Deepwater Horizon's failed blowout preventer and transport them to vessels on the surface. With the successful reinstallation of a cap on the blowout prevent on Wednesday, BP may be able to stick to its plan of capturing 53,000 barrels a day by early next week, nearly doubling its capacity to contain the leaking oil. The cap connects with the vessel via a mile-long pipe, helping siphon up to 18,000 barrels of crude a day. Government and independent scientists estimate that about 35,000 to 60,000 barrels of oil a day are flowing from the well. To date, almost 74,000 claims have been filed and more than 39,000 payments have been made, totaling almost $126 million. The company has set up a $20 billion fund to satisfy certain obligations arising from the oil and gas spill. It said it is still "too early to quantify other potential costs and liabilities associated with the incident." BP has been trying to contain the oil spill ever since an explosion on its Deepwater Horizon oil rig on April 20 killed 11 people. BP shares closed flat at 325.25 pence a share on Thursday. Company Website: http://www.bp.com -By Alex MacDonald, Dow Jones Newswires; 44 20 7842 9328; alex.macdonald@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 25, 2010 02:43 ET (06:43 GMT)