Deepwater Horizon claims facility approaches closure; BP to take $1.7 billion post-tax non-operating charge

Charge covered within existing financial framework

The Court Supervised Settlement Program (CSSP) established as part of the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) class action settlement is winding down. BP now expects to take a post-tax non-operating charge of around $1.7 billion in its fourth quarter 2017 results for the remaining Business Economic Loss (BEL) and other claims associated with the CSSP. The cash impact is expected to be spread over a multi-year period.

The charge results primarily from significantly higher claims determinations issued by the CSSP in the fourth quarter and the continuing effect of the Fifth Circuit’s adverse May 2017 ruling on the matching of revenues with expenses when evaluating BEL claims.

Brian Gilvary, BP’s chief financial officer, said: “With the claims facility’s work very nearly done, we now have better visibility into the remaining liability. The charge we are taking as a result is fully manageable within our existing financial framework, especially now that we have the company back into balance at $50 per barrel.”

Cash payments related to DWH in 2018 are now anticipated to be around $3 billion, as compared to the company’s third-quarter estimate of just over $2 billion.

BP will continue to vigorously appeal determinations of claims that it believes are non-compensable under the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee settlement agreement.

In order to utilize the ‘safe harbor’ provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the ‘PSLRA’), BP is providing the following cautionary statement. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements including statements regarding expectations with respect to the post tax charge expected to be taken in BP’s fourth quarter 2017 results relating to Deepwater Horizon, the time period for the cash impact of the charge, the anticipated 2018 cash payments and the effect on the financial framework. By their nature, forward looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events and depend on circumstances that will or may occur in the future and are outside the control of BP. Actual results may differ from those expressed in such statements depending on a variety of factors, including the risk factors set forth in our most recent Annual Report and Form 20-F under “Risk factors” and in any of our more recent public reports.