"BP is likely to agree next month to pay $20-$25 billion to settle all charges around the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, according to a leading analyst, double the figure the company has set aside and more than other analysts expect."
"BP and the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) have been silent on the progress of talks on a settlement. Sources close to the matter say a deal remains uncertain over BP's role in the Deepwater Horizon rig blast, which killed 11 workers and caused the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.
However, Martijn Rats, head of European oil research at Morgan Stanley -- the top ranked firm for oil and gas research in the Thomson Reuters Extel awards last year -- said he saw a 70-80 percent chance the two sides would agree a deal on civil and criminal charges within weeks.
In a research note published on Thursday, he predicted an agreement sometime between BP's full year results on February 7, and the scheduled start of legal hearings in New Orleans on February 27."
Tom Bergin reports for Reuters January 20, 2012.
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