Poll: Should Cameron help BP to cover costs of oil spill? BP originally set aside £5.2bn to cover the cost of compensation but now fears the final figure may be much higher. The company, which is the fifth largest in the world, feels unfairly targeted by the US government. It believes that many of the claims from US businesses it now faces are fictitious or exaggerated. The BBC's Business editor Robert Peston reports that - should the financial damage keep increasing - the multinational firm also worries it may become a target for takeover by another oil giant. So should David Cameron intervene?