BP preliminarily agrees to $20B escrow account to handle claims

via washingtonpost.com

(source: Washington Post)

"The Obama administration and BP reached an agreement Wednesday under which the company will place $20 billion in an escrow account to pay damage claims resulting from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The company, whose chairman announced Wednesday that it would not pay dividends to shareholders for the rest of the year, will also contribute $100 million to a fund that supports unemployed oil workers.

Speaking to reporters in the State Dining Room of the White House, President Obama called the agreement "a good start" that will reassure "the people and small businesses I was talking to in the Gulf that BP will meet its responsibilities."

"I'm absolutely confident BP will be able to meet its obligations to the Gulf Coast and to the American people," Obama said. "BP is a strong and viable company and it is in all our interests that it remains so. This is about accountability. At the end of the day, that's what every American wants and expects."

cont.

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