BP to contest Gulf oil spill lawsuits

BP ratcheted up the rhetoric around multi-billion dollar claims from the Gulf oil spill by warning it would vigorously contest lawsuits over one of the world’s worst environmental disasters.

While reiterating BP’s “bias for settling” at hearings scheduled this month, chief executive Bob Dudley said he would only do so on fair and reasonable terms.

As he unveiled higher fourth quarter profit yesterday and a rise in the dividend, which he said showed BP was putting the spill behind it, Mr Dudley acknowledged that the lawsuits were the biggest uncertainty facing the British company.