"BP's Final Tab For The 2010 Gulf Oil Spill? $61.6 Billion"

"BP said Thursday (July 14) it pegs its total cost of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil disaster at $61.6 billion, the first estimate the company has provided since the spill. That includes a $5.2 billion pre-tax hit to profits for the second quarter this year.

BP said the charge is likely the last major expense related to the Gulf oil disaster after six years of mounting costs. Remaining oil spill costs are not expected to have a "material impact" on the financial performance of the global group, the company said.

The British oil giant has avoided giving a total corporate cost of the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon rig explosion and ensuing oil spill in light of rising costs. The Macondo well blowout and explosion killed 11 men and unleashed more than 100 million gallons of oil."

Jennifer Larino reports for the New Orleans Times-Picayune July 14, 2016.