- BP faces a maximum fine of $13.7B after Judge Barbier ruled today that the company dumped 3.2M barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.
- It could have been worse, as the judge rejected the U.S. government’s spill estimate of 4.1M barrels, thus lowering the potential maximum fine from $18B.
- Barber said BP's response to the disaster was not grossly negligent but stuck to his earlier opinion that it was grossly negligent leading up to the Macondo well blowout.
- The ruling sets the stage for a trial next week at which Barbier will determine the amount of the fines, based on the law’s provision for as much as $4,300/bbl spilled and factors such as what BP did to minimize the effects of the spill.
- BP +0.4% AH.