- Halliburton’s (HAL -0.2%) agreement to settle most of the lawsuits stemming from its role in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill refocuses attention on the still-awaited court ruling that will decide the extent of BP’s (BP -1.5%) liability.
- U.S. District Judge Barbier, who conducted a non-jury trial over fault for the Macondo disaster, is weighing whether BP and its co-defendants HAL and Transocean (RIG -1.7%) acted with gross negligence; the rulings will help define the scale of future payments, as well as the limits.
- If Barbier decides BP acted with gross negligence, and accepts the U.S. estimate of the size of the spill, the company faces a maximum fine for violation of the Clean Water Act of $18B; if he rejects gross negligence and accepts the BP estimate, the maximum fine would be $2.7B.
- BP has reserved $3.5B for civil penalties under the Clean Water Act and has not increased the reserve, the company said in its most recent quarterly filing.