BP Takes $32.2B Pre-Tax Charge On Gulf Spill;Selling $30B In Assets

27th Jul 2010 07:18

LONDON (Dow Jones)--BP PLC (BP) Tuesday said it would take a pre-tax charge of $32.2 billion--including the $20 billion escrow compensation fund previously announced--and sell up to $30 billion in assets over the next 18 months to pay for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. "We expect we will pay the substantial majority of the remaining direct spill response costs by the end of the year. Other costs are likely to be spread over a number of years, including any fines and penalties, longer-term remediation, compensation and litigation costs," Chief Executive Tony Hayward said. The disposals will help BP reduce its net debt level down to $10 billion to $15 billion within the next 18 months, compared with $23 billion at the end of June. BP said disposals would focus on upstream assets, leaving "the company with a smaller but higher quality exploration and production business." -By Jeffrey Sparshott, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)207 842 9347; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 27, 2010 02:18 ET (06:18 GMT)