A statement from BP said the company will initially make payments of 5 billion dollars into the new fund this year, which will be followed by a payment of 1.25 billion dollars per quarter in 2011 and beyond until a total of 20 billion dollars has been paid in.

The statement also said the company will sell 10 billion dollars of assets and cut investments.

A team of government scientists charged with studying the spill rate said Tuesday that it now estimates that between 35,000 and 60,000 barrels a day are emanating from the well.

The estimate is the latest in a series that began with an initial estimate in April of 1,000 barrels a day. Just last week, the team of scientists said the flow rate was about 20,000 to 40,000 barrels a day.

BP's bonds slumped and the cost of insuring the company's debt soared after Fitch Ratings downgraded BP's long-term issuer default rating to a level just above junk ratings, citing the high costs that BP is likely to face as spill rate rises and the political pressure from Washington mounts.

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