BP Plc Still Has to Pay Billions of Dollar for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill

BP Plc agreed to pay more than $12 billion for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, but it still has to face claims seeking damages of billions of dollars more.

Yesterday, November 15th, BP Plc agreed to pay $4.5 billion for federal criminal charges and claims by the Securities and Exchange Commission, but it still has ahead $17.6 billion in potential fines from the Clean Water Act and the U.S. and Gulf states to restore the regions’ waters and coastline. BP may avoid the federal contracting ban claiming that it has not been informed about a so-called contracting death sentence.

“BP’s criminal settlement with the Justice Department announced yesterday represents but a down payment on the oil company’s obligation to mitigate the environmental and economic damage it unleashed on the Gulf Coast more than two years ago,” said Alabama Representative Jo Bonner, a Republican.

Since 2010 the government has been in negotiations with BP to solve all disputes regarding the spill, but they haven’t yet reached a satisfactory number yet. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said that the pollution claims will be heard during the non-jury trial on February 25th, in the New Orleans federal court.