“You cannot do this from Washington,” he said. “You’ve got to be down here in the gulf.”

He assured them that while he was approved by the president and is spending BP’s money, “I am not beholden to the Obama administration, I am not beholden to BP — I am an independent administrator, calling the shots as I see them.”

He described the two-part claims process. It begins with the relatively easy process of getting emergency payments, available without obligation to eligible claimants who can prove their losses, up to six months’ worth of damages at a time. (BP has paid out more than $200 million from 36 claims offices to more than 32,000 claimants so far.)

Image Kenneth R. Feinberg, the administrator of a BP fund to compensate those harmed by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, at a gathering on Thursday in Lafitte, La. Credit... Jennifer Zdon for The New York Times

Then, 90 days after the well is finally plugged, comes the tougher phase of the three-year program: negotiating with each claimant for the lump sum to cover economic losses from the spill. Those who accept the payment will have to sign a waiver stating that they will not sue BP.

“If you think the lump sum payment is inadequate, don’t sign,” he said, adding that the litigation route in court will mean uncertainty, years of delay and a big cut for the lawyers. “I am determined to come up with a system that will be more generous, more beneficial, than if you go and file a lawsuit.”

His message is blunt, but he wins many people over. Rather than saying “cheese” when he posed for a photo with four police officers, he said, “Everybody file a claim?”

Later that morning, in Houma, he faced an audience of oil rig workers and commercial fishermen. He acknowledged that many people run an all-cash business, explaining that his standards of proof, especially for emergency payments, were not crushing. “Show me a tax return,” he said in mock dialogue, and drawled in response, “Well, I lost it,” which elicited knowing laughs.