BP’s fine of US$13.7b lower than feared
Print Edition
BP Plc will face a maximum fine of US$13.7 billion under the Clean Water Act for its Gulf of Mexico oil spill, several billion dollars less than feared, after a judge ruled that it was smaller than the US government claimed.
The ruling by federal magistrate Carl Barbier put the size of the worst offshore spill in US history in 2010 at 3.19 million barrels.
That was well below the government’s estimate of 4.09 million barrels, which could have led to penalties of up to US$17.6 billion.
“The ruling is a step in the right direction of what appears to be a long and hard-fought legal battle,” Barclays said.
Under a “gross negligence” ruling Barbier issued in September, BP could be fined a statutory limit of up to US$4,300 for each barrel spilled, though he has authority to assign lower fines.
A simple “negligence” ruling, which BP sought, caps the highest fine at US$1,100 per barrel.
The Clean Water Act penalties would come on top of more than US$42 billion the oil major has set aside or spent for clean-up, compensation and fines. About 810,000 barrels were collected during clean-up.
In his Thursday ruling, Barbier said BP’s response to the disaster was not grossly negligent, but stuck to his earlier opinion that it had been grossly negligent leading up to the Macondo well blowout.
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