BP claims Deepwater Horizon fine could bankrupt subsidiary
BP PLC for the first time has identified in court papers the amount its subsidiary should pay in civil fines for its role in the Deepwater Horizon spill, claiming that anything more than $2.3 billion could result in insolvency.
The oil giant in court papers filed on Friday specified the dollar amount in arguing what BP Exploration & Production Inc. is liable for under the Clean Water Act for its negligence in causing the 2010 spill. The U.S. Department of Justice, in its own filings on Friday, continued to push for the maximum penalty of $13.7 billion—or, at the very least, more than $12 billion.
BP Exploration & Production, which already spent $35.7 billion in claims payments and a massive cleanup of the Gulf of Mexico following the spill, said imposing too high a fine under the Clean Water Act would discourage other companies from doing the same.
“Imposing a penalty on BPXP anywhere near the amount suggested by the United States would dis-incentivize future operators from engaging in a robust and sustained response like that mounted by BPXP,” wrote BP spokesman Geoff Morrell in an emailed statement, referring to BP Production & Exploration. “Furthermore, a [Clean Water Act] penalty above the low end of the statutory range would threaten BPXP’s solvency and have a significant negative impact on BPXP’s expenditures in the Gulf region.”
The Justice Department also is seeking more than $1 billion against Anadarko Petroleum Corp., which co-owned the well where the rig exploded. “Given the unprecedented seriousness of the violation, the defendants should justify why they should not pay the maximum penalty available,” wrote Steven O’Rourke, senior attorney at the Justice Department’s environmental enforcement section.
Natl Law Journal
http://link.nationallawjournal.com/54b6ae9e92721943738b547c2g26b.glk/VRtdtMPoL6NDeDrqAd523
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