Billions of dollars at stake as BP oil spill trial starts
Case to determine cause, how much oil spilled and the environmental and economic damage
Billions of dollars are at stake this week at the opening of a complex trial to determine how much BP should pay for the devastating 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
The British energy giant has already resolved thousands of lawsuits linked to the deadly disaster out of court, including a record US$4.5 billion plea deal with the US government in which BP pleaded guilty to criminal charges and a US$7.8 billion settlement with people and businesses affected by the spill.
US prosecutors are determined to prove at the trial due to start yesterday that gross negligence caused the April 20, 2010 blast that killed 11 workers and sank the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig, sending millions of barrels of oil gushing into the sea.
BP is equally determined to avoid a finding of gross negligence, which would drastically increase its environmental fines to as much as US$17 billion.
"Gross negligence is a very high bar that BP believes cannot be met in this case," BP group general counsel Rupert Bondy said. "This was a tragic accident, resulting from multiple causes and involving multiple parties."
Gross negligence is a very high bar that BP believes cannot be met in this case
BP is also hoping to shift much of the blame - and cost - to rig operator Transocean and subcontractor Halliburton, which was responsible for a faulty cement job on board the offshore drilling platform.
