BP reports $350 mn bill for oil leak fallout

LONDON: BP said on Monday that the huge Gulf of Mexico oil spill had so far cost the embattled British energy group USD 350 million.

"The cost to date of the response amounts to about 350 million dollars, including the cost of spill response, containment, relief well drilling, commitments to the Gulf Coast States, settlements and federal costs," BP said in a statement.

BP officials were meanwhile desperately searching today for a new approach after efforts to cap a gushing leak with a containment dome hit a perilous snag.

British energy giant BP, which owns the lion's share of the leaking oil and has accepted responsibility for the clean-up, is facing the jaw-dropping possibility that, failing a swift fix it has yet to deliver with a containment dome, the crisis could spiral into an even worse environmental calamity.

The White House also was scrambling to contain fallout from the massive disaster threatening to take a toll on President Barack Obama's political and energy agenda.