Obama: Meeting With BP 'Constructive,' Company Agrees To $20B Fund

16th Jun 2010 19:43

By Jared A. Favole Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--President Barack Obama, after emerging from a meeting with top BP Plc (BP, BP.LN) executives, said the company has agreed to set aside a $20 billion fund to help pay for claims as a result of the Gulf oil disaster. Obama called the meeting "constructive" and said BP voluntarily agreed to set aside an additional $100 million for workers who lost their jobs as a result of a deep-water drilling moratorium imposed by Obama. Obama said the $20 billion is not a cap, and added that BP will pay the full costs of the clean up including environmental damage. Obama met with executives of BP, including its chairman, for several hours at the White House. He said "BP is a strong and viable company and it is in all of our interests that it remains so." -By Jared A. Favole, Dow Jones Newswires; 202.862.9256; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 16, 2010 14:43 ET (18:43 GMT)