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— As BP PLC's costs for the disastrous Gulf of Mexico oil spill climb to just over $3 billion, the British oil giant is billing partners Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and Japan's Mitsui for their shares of the cleanup.
BP has billed Anadarko, a 25-percent stakeholder in the blown-out well, for more than a quarter billion dollars so far. It also has reportedly billed Mitsui, a 10-percent partner, for $111 million.
"They are partners in the field, and as responsible partners we would expect them to bear some of the costs," BP spokeswoman Sheila Williams said Monday.
Anadarko, based in The Woodlands, Texas, said in a statement that it is reviewing the $272.2 million bill sent last week and "assessing our contractual remedies." Anadarko CEO Jim Hackett argued last month that his company should be excluded from paying for the spill due to BP's "reckless decisions and actions" in its handling of the well. Hackett called BP out for its failure to "react to several critical warning signs" as it drilled below the sea floor.
Calls to Mitsui & Co. for comment weren't immediately returned.
BP said Monday that it has spent $3.12 billion so far in response to the spill, including attempting to contain oil, paying claims and reimbursing the U.S. and local governments. That's up from $2.65 billion a week earlier. The figure does not include a $20 billion fund for Gulf damages that London-based BP created last month.
The oil company said $147 million has been spent to settle 47,000 claims for payment — or about half of the claims submitted so far.
The spill began April 20 with an explosion and fire aboard the Deepwater Horizon platform that killed 11 workers.
As BP continues drilling relief wells that are the best hope for stopping the spill, a giant new oil skimming vessel is being tested in the Gulf. But lousy weather means it may be longer than first hoped before officials know if it can work full-time sucking crude from the sea.
