The compensation fund set up last year by BP following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has paid out more than $5 billion to 204,434 claimants in the past year, meaning more than a quarter of the $20 billion fund has been paid to victims of the largest U.S. oil spill.
BP (BP), Europe's second-largest oil company, set up the $20 billion fund at the behest of the Obama Administration following the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig on April 20, 2010. Eleven workers aboard the rig perished in the accident.
The fund's administrator, Kenneth Feinberg, said the fund has received 947,000 claims, including claims from all 50 states and 36 different countries, according to Bloomberg News. Earlier this year, Feinberg said it appeared likely that the entire $20 billion would not be necessary to pay for all legitimate claims.
BP is still facing hundreds of lawsuits from Gulf Coast businesses and residents and some claimants have been forced to waive their right to pursue litigation against the British oil giant if they receive compensation from the spill fund. Feinberg has come under fire for delivering what some call smaller-than-expected payments and in slow fashion.
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