The WSJ's "The Source" blog (No closure yet ...):
BP has now taken pre-tax charges of $39.9 billion related to the spill, although the company admits this number is, “subject to significant uncertainty.” Indeed the oil giant is still paying for 11,000 people and around 3,500 vessels deployed for cleanup that have yet to be demobilized, a process that could take until the first quarter of 2011.
Even larger and more uncertain is the cost of, “claims that become payable by BP, the amount of fines ultimately levied on BP (including any determination of negligence by BP), the outcome of federal and derivative lawsuits, and any costs arising from any longer-term environmental consequences of the oil spill,” the company said.
Clean Water Act fines, which could amount to $17.5 billion if BP is found grossly negligent in the run up to the Deepwater Horizon explosion, still hang over the company.