Gulf oil spill costs reach $1.6 bln

LONDON: British energy group BP said Monday that its costs of sorting out the Gulf of Mexico oil spill had risen to about 1.6 billion dollars (1.3 billion euros).

"The cost of the response to date amounts to approximately 1.6 billion dollars, including the cost of the spill response, containment, relief well drilling, grants to the Gulf states, claims paid, and federal costs," BP said in a statement.