BP 'close to oil spill settlement'

BP is said to be close to reaching an agreement over a settlement for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

According to a report by the Sunday Times, the energy company could be set to pay a further $11 billion (£7 billion) to the US authorities.

The FTSE 100 group and the US Department of Justice are looking to make the announcement of the agreement of the settlement in the next few weeks, it was claimed.

BP is reported to be seeking a "grand settlement" - which would cover Clean Water Act fines, plus potential criminal charges - of around $15 billion.

But president Barack Obama and his team are looking for the total figure to be closer to $25 billion, due to the fact they view the battle with BP as a vote-winner in the upcoming election.

The Gulf of Mexico oil spill occurred in April 2010 and it took two months for the company to be able to stop the flow of harmful materials into the water.