BP oil spill costs up to $1.6bn

BP's costs for responding to the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico have risen to $1.6bn (€1.3bn).

The firm said this includes new $25m (€20.44m) grants the British oil giant has given to Florida, Alabama and Mississippi.

It also includes $60m (€49m) for a project to build barrier islands off the Louisiana coast.

The estimate does not include future costs for scores of lawsuits already filed for damages.

BP is now siphoning off significant amounts of oil from its runaway well 5,000ft underwater, but the next best chance for ending the spill will not arrive until relief wells are completed in August.

Already, more than 100 million gallons of crude are thought to have been expelled into the Gulf.