BP, Europe's second-largest oil company, said payouts from the $20 billion compensation fund to victims of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill are too generous. The company made the comments just a days after the Justice Department encouraged Ken Feinberg, the fund's administrator, to be a little more free with the cash.
BP (BP) set up the fund following the spill at the behest of the Obama Administration and has been voraciously selling assets to help pay for it. In late 2010, Feinberg said $10 billion may be enough to cover all spill claims.
Thus far, the Gulf Coast Claims Facility has paid out roughly $3.5 billion of the $20 billion that BP has allocated to pay for damages, according to CNN. BP confirmed it sent a 24-page letter to Feinberg requesting an examination of payment methodology. The document said Feinberg's methodology artificially inflates future expected losses for victims of the spill, according to the Associated Press.
Feinberg, who became well-known after his role as President Obama's executive compensation czar following the financial crisis, has come under fire by claimants that say they are not being compensated quickly enough. Legal experts have also questioned Feinberg's and his law firm's relationship with BP.
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