BP said it expected to take a post-tax non-operating charge of around $1.7bn in the fourth quarter as part of the class action settlement of the disastrous Deepwater Horizon oil well spill in the US in 2010.
The company said the charge was due to "significantly higher" claims rulings by the Court Supervised Settlement Program (CSSP) in the fourth quarter and the continuing effect of a 2017 court ruling on matching of revenues with expenses when evaluating economic loss claims.

BP said the CSSP was now winding down.

"With the claims facility's work very nearly done, we now have better visibility into the remaining liability," said chief financial officer Brian Gilvary.

"The charge we are taking as a result is fully manageable within our existing financial framework, especially now that we have the company back into balance at $50 per barrel."

The spill occurred in 2010 when an uncontrollable blowout caused an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that killed 11 crewmen. The rig sank two days later leaving the well gushing at the seabed and causing the largest oil spill in US waters.

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