BP spill cost breaks $11bn

BP has spent $11.2bn (£7.1bn) cleaning up this summer's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, capping the broken well and compensating those affected by the disaster.On the day that American Bob Dudley takes over from Tony Hayward as chief executive, the oil giant said it has settled 44,000 of the 86,000 claims lodged with the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) at a cost of $806m (£509m).The GCCF has been dealing with claims since August 23. Before that, BP paid out $399m (£252m), to 127,000 claimants.It has also pledged some of its Gulf of Mexico assets as collateral for the $20bn (£13bn) Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Trust, set up to pay fund liabilities arising from the April 20 explosion that killed 11 workers.Assets involve include an overriding royalty interest in oil and gas production of BP's Thunder Horse, Atlantis, Mad Dog, Great White and Mars, Ursa and Na Kika oil and gas assets in the Gulf of Mexico. A programme of asset sales has already brought in around $10bn, although it's thought the total sale proceeds could reach $25bn.Separately, BP shareholders welcomed news that the company may resume dividend payments early next year.In interviews with the press to mark his inauguration as CEO, Dudley said company bosses would be getting together soon to talk about plans for payouts, stopped earlier this year to save money following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.