BP Gulf fines could top $18 billion (in theory)

According to CNN Money, under the federal Clean Water Act, BP faces fines reaching into the billions for its oil well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico. If the company is found negligent, says a Justice Department spokesman, the company faces fines of $4,300 per barrel of oil released. At the maximum end of the current, official blowout rate, that would mean a fine of over $18 billion. However, because there still hasn't been a good measurement of how much oil was spilled before the latest control measure stopped the flow from the wellhead, and because it remains to be seen whether or not BP will be found negligent, the actual fine is very uncertain. A Houston oil and gas attorney said that no matter if an accurate count of barrels spilled comes out, a judge and jury will ultimately decide how much the company owes, not the federal government. Read much more, here.