BP fund pays $5B-plus, but only $387M to Mississippi

GULF COAST — The administrator of the fund BP set up to compensate victims of last year’s oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico says the fund has paid more than $5 billion in claims.

Kenneth Feinberg made the announcement today in a summary of payouts from the $20-billion fund.

Feinberg said in a news release that the Gulf Coast Claims Facility had received 947,892 claims from 50 states and 36 foreign counties. He said 359,441 claims were paid; 430,000 were denied. Some are pending.

Florida had the most paid claims, with 150,920 totaling more than $2 billion. Louisiana followed with 115,702 claims paid totaling about $1.5 billion. Alabama had 53,681 claims paid totaling $862 million. Mississippi had 30,193 claims paid totaling $387 million.