BP (BP) Hands Feinberg Big Raise

Saying his responsibilities have grown since he began overseeing the claims process of BP's (NYSE:BP) compensation fund, the energy giant announced it has given fund administrator Kenneth Feinberg an increase in compensation from $850,000 to $1.25 million a month.

The White House and BP appointed Feinberg to oversee payments from the fund to individuals and businesses. Since Feinberg took over the payment process, approximately $3.6 billion has been paid out to 172,000 claimants. Other than payments to individuals and businesses, the fund also can be used to pay for environmental damages and state and local response costs, although in those cases Feinberg does not oversee the payments.

The raise in pay was made retroactive to January 15, and extends to the end of 2011.

BP closed Friday at $46.87, gaining $0.06, or 0.13 percent.