British oil giant BP reported $3.6 billion in profit in its second quarter earnings release Tuesday. The company also reported $260 million in charges related to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, NOLA.com reports.
Most of the charges are funds set aside to pay for future litigation relating to the spill.
BP deposited $20 billion into a settlement trust fund immediately after the Deepwater Horizon explosion. After payouts, the account currently has a balance of about $6.3 billion.
The company’s statement said it would continue to contest what it considers “unreasonable claims” from businesses for compensation. Currently, businesses must prove they lost money in the aftermath of the oil spill, but they are not required to prove their losses were caused by the spill.
The earnings statement also said, “We continue to believe that BP was not grossly negligent and have taken the charge against income on that basis.”