A federal judge reduced the liability oil giant BP faces for the Deepwater Horizon spill, ruling that the amount of oil its well dumped into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 was less than what the federal government had estimated. The ruling means BP likely will pay $4 billion less in civil penalties than what the Justice Department has sought.
District Judge Carl Barbier, of the Eastern District of Louisiana, ruled Thursday that while the company was deceptive about how much oil was escaping from the broken well into the Gulf’s waters, that did not have any bearing on the company’s attempts to stop the spill and cap the well, which did meet federal and industry standards.
“BP was not grossly negligent, reckless, willful or wanton in its source-control planning and preparation,” the judge ruled, according to the National Law Journal. “It has not been shown that BP’s flow rate misrepresentations delayed the capping of the well or otherwise adversely affected source control.”
The government had sought $18 billion in damages from BP in a civil case, arguing the company’s negligence resulted in 4.2 million gallons of oil being released into the Gulf. The penalty figure was based on a $4,300 fine per barrel. The judge said that failed to account for oil that was subsequently recovered during the cleanup, which he said put the spill figure at 3.2 million gallons.
The oil company issued a guarded statement, saying, “BP believes that considering all the statutory penalty factors together weighs in favor of a penalty at the lower end of the statutory range.” BP has reportedly already paid out $42 billion in cleanup costs related to the spill, which began with an explosion that killed 11 oil workers.
A spokesman for the Justice Department could not be reached for comment. The trial is continuing in New Orleans.
