WASHINGTON (AFP) - BP chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg promised to "look after the people affected" after talks with President Barack Obama.

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BP Swedish chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg said Wednesday the British energy giant cared about the fate of the "small people" hit by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, vowing to look after all affected.

Emerging from White House talks with President Barack Obama, Svanberg said the British energy giant had "always met our obligations and responsibilities."

"We have made clear from the first moment of this tragedy that we will live up to all our legitimate responsibilities," Svanberg said, adding all claims for compensation would be met "swiftly and fairly."

"We will look after the people affected, and we will repair the damage to this region, the environmental damage to this region and to the economy," he added.

Obama said he had urged the BP bosses to remember when they were meeting in the boardroom to "keep in mind those individuals, that they are desperate, may lose business that have been in their families for two or three generations."

Svanberg agreed, saying: "We care about the small people."