Guardian -   BP said today it is a fortnight away from sealing the ruptured oil well in the Gulf of Mexico for good, as it revealed that the bill for containing and cleaning up the oil spill – the largest in American history – has reached $8bn. Depending on the weather, the oil giant hopes to seal the well for good in mid-September. Since 15 July, no new oil has flowed into the Gulf from the ruptured well, BP said. It continues to search for oil on the surface.

The bill has steadily risen since the 20 April oil rig explosion which triggered an environmental disaster in the region. In the aftermath, the oil giant has been forced to abandon hopes of drilling in the Arctic due to its tarnished reputation, and BP's chief executive, Tony Hayward, eventually bowed to pressure to resign. Since the processing of claims by people affected by the disaster transferred to the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, led by Ken Feinberg under a deal with the White House, BP has paid out some $38.5m to 4,900 claimants. Before the transfer, it had made 127,000 claims payments, totalling approximately $399m.

Jacqui Goddard in Miami is available for coverage.