LONDON, England (AP) — Oil company BP PLC shied away from spearheading any industry rush back into the Gulf of Mexico as it revealed yesterday that the cost of its devastating oil spill has jumped to $40 billion — taking the shine off a return to profit in the third quarter.

Chief Executive Bob Dudley was forced to raise the likely cost of the worst oil spill in US history by $7.7 billion because of delays to the final capping of the busted Macondo well.

That dragged down third quarter net income by more than 60 percent compared to a year ago, to $1.79 billion from $5.3 billion. But underlying replacement cost profit — a key industry benchmark that excludes the one-time cost of the spill — came in at $5.5 billion, beating analysts’ forecasts of $4.6 billion.

Several residents along the Gulf Coast were happy to see BP turning a profit, keeping the company afloat so it can live up to its promise to compensate those affected by the spill.

“I don’t think it’s to anyone’s advantage to see BP go broke or go out of business,” said Byron Encalade, the president of the Louisiana Oystermen Association whose oyster beds are all dead or dying. “We want them to stay right and keep making money. All we want is for them to take care of the people who have been affected and their livelihoods destroyed.”

Thousands are suffering from a summer of lost revenue after the April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig that killed 11 workers. Oil kept gushing until July 15, and it took BP another two months — until September 19 — to completely seal the well.

More than six months after the spill, tar balls continue to wash up on some beaches across the coast, while BP conave begun a large scale effort to clean remaining oil buried in the sand. Most beaches are open, but businesses who depend on tourists have lost their much-needed summer revenue that carries them through the slower winter months. They are now struggling to get by as they wait on their compensation checks from BP.

BP has pledged to make amends, promising certain Gulf assets as collateral for a $20 billion fund — overseen by the US government — to pay claims, but the London-based company’s longer term plans for the Gulf remain open to speculation.

Dudley, who was presenting his first quarterly earnings report since taking over from gaffe-prone Tony Hayward a month ago, said BP was committed to operating in the Gulf following the lifting last month of a US government moratorium on drilling.

But he said the company would “step back” and look at its equipment and rigs in those waters before attempting to jump back in, suggesting it may turn to its ventures elsewhere in the world to provide growth for a while.

“It wouldn’t be sensible for us to be the first one to raise our hand and rush in with a permit,” Dudley said. “We are still embedding the lessons from this incident … we are going to take our time and be absolutely thorough and rigorous about this.”

Chevron and Shell have both submitted requests for projects since President Barack Obama lifted the drilling moratorium on October 12, but new regulations, which include more rig inspections, are expected to make it harder for companies to obtain offshore drilling permits.