BP has agreed to put roughly $20 billion into an escrow account to cover costs related to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, a senior White House official told CNN Wednesday.
The official said the agreement was worked out ahead of a highly-anticipated meeting between BP executives and President Obama in Washington.
The amount to be placed in the fund is “in the ballpark of $20 billion,” according to the official.
Obama is expected to make a statement later Wednesday.
BP has been under intense political pressure to ensure that it can cover all costs related to the spill, which has become the worst environmental disaster in US history, including cleaning up the mess and paying all claims of economic damage.
A BP spokesman declined to comment on the fund.
Separately, an administration official confirmed to CNN that Kenneth Feinberg, who served as Special Master of the 9/11 victims compensation fund, will oversee the fund.
Feinberg has also been the administration’s point person on executive compensation.
BP has said repeatedly that it plans to pay all costs related to the spill. But the company has been criticized for not moving fast enough to process claims of economic damage filed by Gulf businesses impacted by the disaster.
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Article courtesy cnn.com
