BP fights on after $7.8bn settlement In a call with analysts yesterday, Brian Gilvary, BP's chief financial officer, said the company is "prepared to settle with others on terms that are reasonable, but equally we're prepared to go to court." The US Government - the oil giant's biggest opponent in the trial over the worst-ever offshore US oil spill - has vowed to press ahead with its $18bn legal action against BP despite Friday's settlement with the Plaintiffs" Steering Committee (PSC) which represents property owners, fishermen, hoteliers, restaurateurs and others who were affected by the 2010 oil rig explosion and subsequent spill in the Gulf of Mexico. BP's general counsel, Rupert Bondy, said there was "nothing specific" in the agreement to take to the DoJ to support the company's view on who was to blame for the disaster, which killed 11 workers and leaked 4.9m barrels of oil. Mr Gilvary also confirmed that the agreement will see BP forgo any "claims, rights and recoveries" against contractors Transocean and Halliburton for "damages not recoverable from BP." Mr Bondy said: "In effect, the PSC will step into our shoes in pursuing the claims against Halliburton and Transocean." Mr Gilvary said the "heavily negotiated" deal "removes a sig­nificant amount of uncertainty around the company." The agreement, reached after markets closed last week, is thought to be lower than the $14bn discussed. Stuart Joyner, an analyst at Investec, said he expects BP shares to rise by about 5pc today. He added that the deal puts BP in a stronger position to negotiate with the DoJ despite the company's refusal to be drawn on its discussions with the US government. The issue now is whether the government can prove gross negligence. The government wants BP rapped over the knuckles. The DoJ has tended to be tough on these things. BP said it does not expect to have to increase the $37.2bn it has set aside to pay for the disaster, whatever the result of the outstanding claims, which also include the states of Louisiana and Alabama, private claims not covered by the settlement and those from its partners on the rig. It added that the $7.8bn figure was a "best estimate" and was not a "floor or a ceiling" of the final cost. The provision can be used as a "deferred tax asset" in that it will be able to deduct against future profits. The settlement delayed a trial that had been set to get under way in a New Orleans federal court tomorrow. US District Judge Carl Barbier is expected to lead a "settlement conference" to seek the views of parties within the next fortnight and then decide on a revised trial schedule.