So...how much is Halliburton going to charge us for the oil cleanup?

[Horse with no Name]

Cause you know it's coming...

[gateley]

1. As much as they can and as much as we'll give them, which historically is a lot of fucking money. nt

[BrklynLiberal]

2. Brazillions.

[gratuitous]

3. "Us"?

But, everyone says that BP is going to be responsible for the costs!

[Horse with no Name]

6. Yeah okay...

:evilgrin:
I have some beachfront property in Louisiana that doesn't have any oil on it...care to buy it?:)

[northzax]

9. Bp will pay.

This is not a lot of money for them, and the potential profits down the line are too great to not pay now. What's a couple hundred million, even a couple billion, to the third largest company on the planet? BP made $83m a DAY in profits last quarter, they can afford it.

[LakeSamish706]

10. How is it not allot of money, when they haven't even figured out how to stop the flow yet? n/t

[northzax]

14. Well sure, it's going to be a lot of money

But BP has a whole lot of money. Besides the 83 million a day in profits, they have $20b in cash on hand and a $50b line of revolving credit. That's a lot of money. For that they could simply buy the gulf coast, if all else fails.

[Rex]

4. Halliburton seems to be untouchable for any past transgressions.

They must have one hell of a lobbyist team to get away with so much murder and general mayhem.

[Voice for Peace]

5. I would laugh if this weren't so real.

k/r

[northzax]

7. Charge us? Not a penny

Under federal law, that bill goes directly to BP. But i'll wager north of $200 million.

[jtrockville]

11. Riiiiight..... Just like Exxon paid for the Valdez.

[northzax]

13. Different situations and different legal issues

Even the laws have changed. The Exxon Valdez was a maritime accident, and was therefore limited in liability. Under current federal law (passed in response to that issue) the owner of the rights to the field, in this case BP, is legally responsible for every penny of cleanup and mitigation from any spill that happens in their field. After all physical costs are paid, there is a liability cap, but that does not (explicitly) include mitigation.

[jtrockville]

15. I hope you're right, but I won't believe it until it happens.

Especially since Mary Landrieu insists that BP is going to pay. That's almost a guarantee they won't.

[Echo In Light]

8. .

[metapunditedgy]

12. More like, how much will our politicians fall over themselves offering to

pay for the cleanup and damages?