BP’s Cleanup Costs Rise More Slowly Than Expected

As the Gulf oil spill gushed out of control, BP’s financial liabilities seemed big enough to sink the company. No more. Cleanup, government fines, lawsuits, legal fees and damage claims will likely exceed the $40 billion that BP has publicly estimated, according to an Associated Press analysis. But they’ll be far below the highest estimates made over the summer by legal experts and prominent Wall Street banks, such as Goldman Sachs, which said costs could near $200 billion.