BP May Have to Pay $18 Billion Fine

It’s seems that problems for BP are far from over. Apart from loss caused due to wastage of oil, clean up costs, and compensation for the disaster, it now has to pay fine to the US government for violating the Clean Water Act.

The US government has decided to charge $300 per barrel spilled into the water. The fine is a bit on the higher side simply because the Justice Department feels BP was negligent in causing the disaster.

However, no one has an accurate idea of how much oil has spilled into the water. Initially, when the oil started leaking, The Coast Guard said it was 1,000 barrels per day. Now the count is somewhere between 35,000 and 60,000 barrels per day.

Let us, for a while, say it was 60,000 barrels per day. Consequently, BP would have to pay over $18 billion as fine to the US government. This is after deducting the 800,000 barrels of oil captured by BP.

The fine amount has been decided keeping in mind the size and condition of the oil giant. It had earned over $17 billion last year alone. So, paying $18 billion wouldn’t be difficult. Besides, considering the mess they have caused, it’s impossible for BP to deny paying the fine amount, making them an easy target.

When asked whether $18 billion is right amount of fine, the spokesperson for Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said, the amount is right, and BP should be held accountable for the violation of the law.

However, BP has accepted per barrel fine amount, but declined to comment on the total amount. Given the amount of oils pilled into the Gulf, reaching to a consensus would be quite difficult for both sides.

Markey, last week, had asked officials to measure the amount of oil spilling from the well, when the temporary cap is to be removed. Until last week, the oil giant didn’t have enough vessels to carry oil spilling from the funneling system. However, they have placed an oil cap now that supplies oil to the vessel on the surface. There wouldn’t be any changes until the system is working properly. But if it fails, Markey would want to remove the cap completely and measure the spill.

Whatever conclusion Markey or the US government comes up with, most believe BP wouldn’t agree on paying $18 billion.