BP Seeks Cuts in Settlement Program’s Budget

BP has urged a federal judge to reject a $111 million budget request by the court-supervised administrator of the company’s multibillion-dollar settlement with Gulf Coast businesses and residents following its 2010 Gulf oil spill.

In a court filing Wednesday, BP attorneys said claims administrator Patrick Juneau refused to cut his office’s fourth-quarter budget request by at least $25.5 million after the company complained that it was excessive.

Last month, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier ordered the London-based oil giant to pay more than $130 million for Juneau’s third-quarter budget despite the company’s objections.

BP said Juneau’s latest budget proposal isn’t reasonable, either, and shouldn’t be approved. The company claims Juneau’s office has failed to adequately manage its outside vendors’ inflated expenses.