BP PLC said on Friday it will establish a $100 million fund to help drilling rig workers in the Gulf of Mexico who are unemployed as a result of the company's oil leak.

After BP's Macondo well ruptured on April 20, causing the worst U.S. oil spill, the U.S. government halted deep-water drilling for six months.

The moratorium, due to be lifted in November, has idled dozens of rigs in the Gulf and companies are moving vessels to work in other parts of the world.

The funds will be administered through the non-profit Baton Rouge Area Foundation in Louisiana and are not part of the company's $20 billion compensation fund it set up in June under pressure from President Barack Obama, a BP spokesman said.