BP faces fine of $13.7b after ruling on spill

DETROIT: BP Plc (BP/) faces a maximum fine of $13.7 billion after a U.S. judge ruled that the company dumped 3.2 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 -- about 75 percent of what the U.S. calculated.

The government's 4.2 million-barrel estimate of the spill size was rejected yesterday by U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier, decreasing the potential maximum fine from $18 billion. BP estimated the flow at 2.45 million barrels. The maximum possible fine would still be the largest U.S. pollution penalty. Barbier previously found BP's exploration unit acted with gross negligence in causing the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. That decision triggered BP's exposure to the maximum fines under the Clean Water Act.

The ruling on the spill's size sets the stage for a trial next week in New Orleans at which Barbier will determine the amount of the fines, based on the law's provision for as much as $4,300 per barrel released and factors such as what BP did to minimize or mitigate the effects of the disaster.

BP still faces multiple claims by private parties and state governments. The company reached an estimated $9.7 billion settlement of claims from most private parties who alleged they were harmed by the spill. The company didn't settle with banks, casinos, local governments and businesses claiming harm from the deep-water drilling moratorium imposed by the government after the spill. Louisiana, Alabama and other Gulf states are also seeking unspecified damages for harm to natural resources.