SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
Form 6-K
Report of Foreign Issuer
Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16 of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
for the period ended 16 January 2018
BP p.l.c.
(Translation of registrant's name into English)
1 ST JAMES'S SQUARE, LONDON, SW1Y 4PD, ENGLAND
(Address of principal executive offices)
Indicate by check mark whether the
registrant files or will file annual
reports under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
Form 20-F
|X| Form
40-F
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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the
information
contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing
the information to the
Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities
Exchange Act of
1934.
Yes
No |X|
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16 January
2018
Deepwater
Horizon claims facility approaches closure;
BP
to take $1.7 billion post-tax non-operating charge
Charge covered within existing financial framework
The Court Supervised Settlement Program (CSSP) established as part
of the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) class action settlement is winding
down. BP now expects to take a post-tax
non-operating charge of around $1.7 billion in its fourth quarter
2017 results for the remaining Business Economic Loss
(BEL) and other claims associated with the
CSSP. The cash impact is expected to be spread over a
multi-year period.
The
charge results primarily from significantly higher claims
determinations issued by the CSSP in the fourth quarter and the
continuing effect of the Fifth Circuit's adverse May 2017 ruling on
the matching of revenues with expenses when evaluating BEL
claims.
Brian
Gilvary, BP's chief financial officer, said: "With the claims
facility's work very nearly done, we now have better visibility
into the remaining liability. The charge we are taking as a result
is fully manageable within our existing financial framework,
especially now that we have the company back into balance at $50
per barrel."
Cash
payments related to DWH in 2018 are now anticipated to be around $3
billion, as compared to the company's third-quarter estimate of
just over $2 billion.
BP will
continue to vigorously appeal determinations of claims that it
believes are non-compensable under the Plaintiffs' Steering
Committee settlement agreement.
Further information:
Cautionary statement:
In
order to utilize the 'safe harbor' provisions of the United States
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the 'PSLRA'), BP
is providing the following cautionary statement. This press release
contains certain forward-looking statements including statements
regarding expectations with respect to the post tax charge expected
to be taken in BP's fourth quarter 2017 results relating to
Deepwater Horizon, the time period for the cash impact of the
charge, the anticipated 2018 cash payments and the effect on the
financial framework. By their nature, forward looking statements
involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events
and depend on circumstances that will or may occur in the future
and are outside the control of BP. Actual results may differ from
those expressed in such statements depending on a variety of
factors, including the risk factors set forth in our most recent
Annual Report and Form 20-F under "Risk factors" and in any of our
more recent public reports.
Dated: 16 January 2018
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BP
p.l.c.
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(Registrant)
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/s/
D.J. JACKSON
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D.J.
JACKSON
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Company Secretary
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