BP prepares to fight Gulf oil spill charges

With a civil trial due to begin in New Orleans in less than a week the oil giant indicated it does not expect to reach a civil claims deal with the US Department of Justice although it is ready to settle on ?fair and reasonable terms?.

BP also argued the penalties it is likely to face should be much lower than some estimates have suggested.

The company, headed by chief executive Bob Dudley, faces a bill of up to $21billion (?13.5billion) if found to be grossly negligent for the spillage of up to 4.9 million barrels of oil, with a lesser liability of ?3.5billion under the US Clean Water Act for negligence rather than gross negligence.

But BP said the Department of Justice had indicated it agrees with BP?s claim that oil it recovered at the spill site should be excluded from penalties it could face, potentially cutting its final fine by ?2.25billion.

The company also reiterated its claim that the total 4.9 million spilt barrels estimate was at least 20 per cent too high, which could further cut a potential fine to about ?8.4billion.

BP?s group general counsel, Rupert Bondy, said: ?We have always been open to settlements on reasonable terms, failing which we have always been prepared to defend our case at trial.

?Faced with demands that are excessive and not based on reality or the merits of the case, we are going to trial. Gross negligence is a very high bar that BP believes cannot be met in this case.?

BP has spent more than ?15billion on the clean-up and payments on claims by individuals, businesses and governments.

It has already been hit with a ?2.9billion fine for criminal failures arising from the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

Bondy said: ?We believe the court should consider, among other things, that BP immediately stepped up and acknowledged our role in the accident. No company has done more, faster, to meet its commitment to economic and environmental restoration efforts in the wake of an industrial accident.?

Source: http://www.express.co.uk/finance/city/378855/BP-prepares-to-fight-Gulf-oil-spill-charges

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