BP’s oil spill fines reduced by billions of dollars
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HOUSTONJan 17, 2015 - 12:00 am GMT+3
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Jan 17, 2015 12:00 am
BP Plc will face a maximum fine of $13.7 billion under the Clean Water Act for its Gulf of Mexico oil spill, several billion less than feared, after a judge found on Friday the size of the spill was smaller than the U.S. government claimed. The ruling by federal magistrate Carl Barbier put the size of the worst offshore spill in U.S. 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 $17.6 billion. Under a "gross negligence" ruling Barbier issued in September, BP could be fined a statutory limit of up to $4,300 for each barrel spilled, though he has authority to assign lower penalties. A simple "negligence" ruling, which BP sought, caps the maximum fine at $1,100 per barrel. In his ruling, Barbier said BP's response to the disaster was not grossly negligent, but stuck to his earlier opinion that it was grossly negligent leading up to the Macondo well blowout.
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