British oil giant BP said Tuesday it is selling the oil collected from the spill in the Gulf of Mexico and plans to donate the money to a fund that helps restore and improve wildlife habitat in the four spill-affected states.

A sea turtle covered in oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill swims off Grand Terre Island, Louisiana June 8, 2010. Energy giant BP Plc said on Tuesday it had sharply increased the amount of oil it was capturing from its blown-out Gulf of Mexico well, but U.S. officials want to know exactly how much oil is still gushing out. [Xinhua/Reuters]

BP cannot predict how much money will be put into the fund, as the amount of funding "will be contingent upon the amount of oil collected during operations and the price at which the oil is sold," the company said in a statement.

BP has collected about 64,650 barrels of crude from the spill as of Tuesday morning and oil is currently selling at around 70 U.S. dollars a barrel.

Only part of the revenue from the sale of the runaway oil is controlled by BP because it only owns part of the lease on the well, BP said.

"We've already launched the largest environmental response in history, and BP is committed to protecting the ecosystems and wildlife on the Gulf Coast. Proceeds from the sale of oil recovered from the MC252 well will be used to further this commitment," said Tony Hayward, BP's chief executive officer.

"We believe these funds will have a significant positive impact on the environment in this region," he said.

BP said the creation of the fund, which is above its obligations under the Oil Protection Act of 1990, "is the latest example of BP's commitment to help the Gulf Coast states and their residents."

On May 24, BP announced a commitment of up to 500 million dollars for an open research program studying the impact of the Deepwater Horizon incident, and its associated response, on the marine and shoreline environment of the Gulf of Mexico.