BP has spent $11.2 billion so far in responding to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the company said Friday as U.S.-born Bob Dudley took over as chief executive officer.

The cost covers cleanup, containment, relief well drilling, federal costs and grants to Gulf states. Since Aug. 23, when the Gulf Coast Claims Facility began handling claims, BP said it has paid more than 44,000 -- totaling $806 million -- of the 86,000 submitted. Prior to that, it paid for 127,000 claims totaling about $399 million.

BP put the cost of the Gulf spill at $9.5 billion last month and has estimated the eventual cost will total $32.2 billion, reports Agence France-Presse.

The energy giant said Friday that it would pledge certain Gulf of Mexico assets as collateral for the $20 billion fund it created in June, at President Obama's insistence, to compensate Gulf residents affected by the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

Dudley, who's taking over the helm of the London-based company from Tony Hayward, announced earlier this week that he was creating a safety division with "sweeping powers" to oversee and audit BP's global operations.