BP says oil spill costs to hit almost 40 billion dollars

LONDON: BP expects to incur higher-than-expected charges of almost 40 billion dollars related to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the British energy giant said on Tuesday as it also posted a return to profit.

BP said it had taken an additional hit of 7.7 billion dollars during the third quarter, bringing the company's total estimated charges related to the devastating oil spill to 39.9 billion dollars (28.6 billion euros).

The company also reported a net profit of 1.785 billion dollars for the third quarter following a loss of 16.9 billion dollars during the second quarter of this year.